Ellie DeWitt Bukater
by Mrs. Christine Ryan
Summary: I have been working on this for the past four/five years and this is the final version I am posting:This is the story of Ellie, Rose's older sister. Like her sister, she finds love. And she finds it in the dashing Tommy Ryan.
1. Welcome to Titanic

**Hello again!  
**

**This is the third, and final time I am posting this story. I have had it posted and then taken down twice. I am just so picky.  
**

**You see, I have been working on this for...Four or five years now? And I always keep coming back to it. But because I have been working on it for so long, I am constantly bothered by little things...So I feel the need to edit and change things. Over and over.  
**

**In my creative writing class, we are doing a fanfiction segment as our final project. So this is what I'm turning in...My first Titanic fanfiction I have been working on for so many years. This is my hobby. This is important to me. I have never been so proud of something I have written. This is my favorite work and it means so much to me. Hell, I even dreamed about it!  
**

**So here it is, everyone. I hope you all enjoy. Maybe I'll get new readers, and maybe faithful ones will remember this story. Happy reading, and I hope to hear feedback! I love you all.  
**

**- Christine**_**  
**_

_**Ellie DeWitt Bukater**_

_Chapter 1: Ellie_

"It doesn't look any bigger than the Mauritania."

"What are you talking about, Rose? This is the biggest ship in the world!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, it's 100 feet longer than the Mauritania. And far more luxurious. Thank you for proving my point, Eleanor," my sister's fiancé turned to my mother, "Your daughter is far too difficult to impress, Ruth." She chuckled.

"So this is the ship they say is unsinkable?"

"It is unsinkable! God himself cannot sink this ship!" he claimed. Rose sighed.

"Oh God, help me," she said to herself quietly.

I gave Rose a sympathetic look. Ever since she was engaged to Mr. Caledon Hockley, she was so sad. I have never seen her so melancholy. The light in her eyes I had seen when she was a young girl, growing up with her, was now gone. Trying to lighten her mood, I pointed at the group of dogs trailing behind us.

"Rose, look at how beautiful those dogs are! Especially that Airedale!"

"Aw Ellie, they are adorable!"

"Ugh, I hate that nickname," mother scoffed, "I named your sister Eleanor, Rose."

"Mother, I prefer to be called Ellie. I feel like it suits me more," I stepped in, giving a mischievous grin.

"And I would prefer you to be married by now," Mother said to me in a bitter tone, giving me a look. I sighed, my smile fading, and just looked away.

"Don't listen to her," Rose whispered to me, "I wish I was you, Ellie. You don't have to be tied down."

I was about to reply, but we ended up at the front of the ship to hand in our tickets. We were escorted to our cabins by a stewardess named Trudy, so sweet and polite. The ship was extraordinary, like a floating dream. The crystal chandeliers were hanging high, not a speck of dust on them. The china placed in the dining area seemed to be sparkling. I could even smell something being prepared at the moment. My stomach began to rumble.

The hall carpet was full of intricate detail, burgundy with designs traced in a golden color. My breath was taken from me as I was brought into my cabin (Rose and Cal shared one, mother and I had our own). My bedroom was never as elegant as this one, I had never seem so many pillows on one bed. Giggling, I fell right onto it, burying my face into the pillows. They smelled so crisp and clean, like a breath of fresh air. The sheets felt so smooth and cool against my skin, I felt so relaxed, even refreshed. Not a soul had slept in this bed before- I would be the very first.

"Is everything alright for you, miss?" Trudy asked me. I sat up, smiling.

"Everything is wonderful Trudy, thank you."

"Do you need help unpacking?"

"No, not at all! I can take care of it myself," I took my suitcase from her hand, "You can go see if my sister needs anything."

"She's in the sitting room, right near the private promenade deck."

"Tell her I will meet her in a few moments, if you can."

"Not a problem, miss,"

"Thank you," I said before she left, smiling.

As I unpacked, I began thinking of our maid, Veronica, back at home in Philadelphia. I was so bothered by the fact that we had a maid. We were not royalty or invalids, we were completely capable of doing things on our own! I knew mother would tell Trudy to unpack her things and put them away as soon as she saw her. It made me feel sick, deep down.

After unpacking, I headed to the sitting room directly across the hall from my cabin. Rose had a painting in her hand and Cal's close friend (and bodyguard, basically) Spicer Lovejoy came in through the other side of the room with a steward carrying Cal's safe, which he took with him everywhere. He was probably finding a place to put it.

"Ellie, who is the artist of this painting, again?" Rose asked me, not taking her eyes off of it. She got most of them from an auction the last time we were home in Philadelphia.

"I'm not too sure..."

"God, not those finger paintings again. They certainly were a waste of money." I looked up to see Cal standing in the doorway.

"The difference between Cal's taste in art and mine is that I have some. They're fascinating. It's like being inside a dream or something. There's truth but no logic." Rose stated.

"What's the artist's name?" Trudy asked. Rose pondered, her face scrunched a bit.

"Something Picasso?" Rose said, thinking.

"Somthing Picasso? He won't amount to a thing." Cal scoffed. "He won't, trust, me."

**Short chapter, I know. They will be longer though.**


	2. Beautiful, But so Cold

**And here is chapter two. (:**

_Chapter 2: Ellie_

"Excuse me,"Rose stood up from the table and left. Mother had a glare on her face as she leaned in towards me.

"What has gotten into your sister?"

"I don't know, mother," I lied.

I knew exactly what was bothering Rose. It was Cal, she didn't love him and I knew it. No one could possibly love someone like him.

"Go check on her please," mother said, waving me off. "Try to find out why she is acting so strange.

I nodded and excused myself, pushing in my chair. I walked down to the hall and out to the deck- I saw her leaning over the railing.

"Are you alright, Rose?" I said, standing next to her, placing my hand on her shoulder. She said nothing, just continued staring out into the ocean.

"This isn't fair, Ellie. They're not fair."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't say anything. Sometimes I feel as I'm their little puppet. I can't speak my mind, I'm being forced into a society I don't want to be a part of," she sighed, "I can't even choose who I want to marry."

I said nothing. I didn't really know what to say.

"Don't you love Cal at all?" I asked after a few moments.

"I don't think I'm actually _in_ love with him," she sighed, "I don't love the person he is. I feel like I was dragged into this, and I had no say in anything. This isn't fair. I can't stand it. I just…I just want to scream," she bit her bottom lip, on the verge of tears. I was silent for a moment.

"What they're doing isn't fair to you," I said. Rose took a deep breath, leaning against the railing. I stood next to her.

"Ellie, I wish I could get out of this. I would do anything," she sighed and looked out to the horizon. "Sometimes I wish I was a bird. That way, I could just fly away."

"You'll get through this. Don't you worry. You're the strongest person I know."

"It's so hard not to worry," she sighed to herself. We didn't say anything for a while and just looked out to the ocean. The water was crisp, choppy. It was a deep blue like a sapphire. The Titanic cut through the small, choppy waves like a knife slicing through an onion. "You're lucky, Ellie," Rose said, breaking the silence.

"Why?"

"You're not being tied down," she grinned.

"You know mother tried pulling this same thing before with me."

"I know. At least you were strong enough to stand up for yourself and broke off the engagement," she sighed again, "I'm not as strong or independent as you, Ellie. But I must say, that George was a nice man."

"He was a decent man that wasn't for me."

"I see what you mean," Rose said.

"Rose," I began, "do you think I'll ever meet someone? I wonder if I'm just going to end up alone the rest of my life."

"You won't be! Ellie, you are completely amazing and beautiful. I'm proud to call you my sister. Trust me, there is a man out there for you. You will find someone."

"And you will too, Rose." I smiled. She forced a small smile herself.

"Rose!" we whipped around to see Cal, "What are you two doing out here? It's freezing."

"Oh Cal, it's gorgeous out here."

"Your mother was wondering where you two ran off. You should go back to her. Come on, now," Cal walked next to her, taking her arm, "Are you coming with us, Eleanor?"

"Yes, I'll catch up," I said. Cal nodded and him and Rose walked off.

I felt such pity for Rose. It wasn't fair that she was being forced to marry that…that stuck-up man. He was so full of himself because he had money. He wouldn't even have any of it if it weren't for his father.

I looked out, seeing the rest of the deck, seeing the vast ocean ahead of me. I began to wonder if I would ever be able to find love. I was already twenty years old. Rose was seventeen and engaged. I sighed and rested my head on my arms leaning against the rail. I looked out, seeing the ocean, vast and never-ending. My eyes drifted to the deck below me. A group of three men caught my eye. They must've been from third class, considering the way they were dressed. One wore a black beret and had darker skin. He must've Spanish. Maybe Italian? Another had blonde hair blowing in the wind. He was actually looking in my direction.

The third man had a brown coat on, along with a brown bowler's hat. He was talking to the blonde haired man. The blonde haired man turned to him to say something, and then he smiled. That man had a smile…a completely amazing smile. I couldn't look away. I haven't seen a man with such a smile in my life. Suddenly, he turned in my direction. He looked right at me and our eyes locked for a moment. I felt my face grow hot and then…I left.

* * *

"Completely unacceptable!" Cal was yelling at the young man now. "What made you think that you could put your hands on my fiancée?" the young, blonde man- the same man I saw on the bench hours earlier- looked down at his feet. "Look at me, you filth!"

"Cal, Cal stop. It was an accident." Rose suddenly said.

"An accident?"

"It was...I was leaning far over and I slipped," Everyone exchanged glances, "I-I was leaning far over to see the uh, uhm, the uh-"

"Propellers?"

"Yes, propellers, and I slipped! And I would've gone overboard but Mr. Dawson here saved me. And also went over himself."

Mr. Dawson was charged for sexual assault (Officers Lightoller and Murdoch overheard Rose screaming and ran over to see what was going on. They found Mr. Dawson hovered over Rose, not wearing his jacket or shoes) but after Rose confessed the charge was dismissed. As a reward for saving her life, we invited Mr. Dawson, or Jack, for dinner over in the first class dining room. As I guessed, Jack was a third class passenger, but that didn't matter to us at the moment. He saved Rose's life.

Awhile later, I heard a knock on my cabin door. I opened it, wondering who wanted to talk to me at this hour. I opened it, Rose standing in the doorway.

"Ellie, come here. I want to show you something,"

"What is it?" I asked, following Rose to her cabin. We entered and Rose began shuffling through her jewelry box. She then pulled out the biggest piece of jewelry I ever saw. It had a deep blue color; it looked just like a sapphire. It was in the shape of a heart and diamonds outlined its shape.

"Oh my, is that the-"

"Heart of the ocean." Rose finished for me.

"Did Cal give you that?"

"Yes...he gave it to me earlier," she sighed. "It's beautiful, but it's a cold heavy thing."

**Please review!**


	3. Love at First Sight

**I see I have gotten a little bit of feedback! Please keep reading! There will be quicker updates then! :D**

_Chapter 3:Ellie_

"I want you to meet Mr. Dawson before dinner."

"Why?" I asked.

Rose and I were walking along the deck. The air was crisp and cool. I felt a breeze going through my hair and I felt a chill.

"I'm guessing you do not have the best impression of Mr. Dawson, and you shouldn't. He saved me, Ellie. He really did."

"I know he did Rose, I believe you! But I don't want to be left out!"

"I need to personally thank him, Ellie," she said.

I looked at her then. She was looking down at her fingers. There was some awfully strange about the way she was acting, but I was not going to argue.

We found Mr. Dawson at the same bench he was sitting at yesterday with those two men I spotted. I felt my stomach churn when I recognized the man sitting next to him. He was there yesterday too- he was the one with the bowler hat, the one with the amazing smile.

"Uh, Mr. Dawson..." Rose walked over to him, interrupting the conversation he was having.

"Rose? Well, isn't this a surprise," Jack smiled, looking up at her, "This is my new friend Tommy. Our cabins are right across from each other."

"Hi," Tommy smiled that smile again. I swooned a little inside, "Jack has told me about you." I noticed he had a thick Irish accent. That suddenly made him a lot more attractive.

"He has?"

"Oh yes. He told me about that predicament you got into last night," he shook his head "A lass should never be left alone at night, even if she is on an unsinkable ship. You're lucky Jack was here!"

"Yes, I am," she smiled at Jack. Their eyes locked for a moment. Tommy noticed and smiled to himself. Then he looked over at me, smiling even bigger.

"And who might you be, miss?"

"I'm her sister, Ellie," I smiled, blushing a bit.

"Hi," Tommy smiled again.

"Hi," I smiled even bigger than he was.

"Nice to meet you, Ellie," Jack said, taking his eyes off my sister. "So what brings you two down to this deck?"

"Well, Jack. I haven't personally thanked you for everything," Rose began, "Is there any way I could talk to you in private?" I was wondering why she even brought me along if she was just going to have a private conversation with him anyway.

I began thinking it was worth it, though. I knew his name now…Tommy. I liked the name. I suddenly wanted to know more about this Tommy. Who he was, where he was from…he was the one on my mind right now. He was just so attractive and seemed so nice.

"Sure that's fine," Jack said getting up. He turned to Tommy. "You two don't mind staying here do you?"

"Not at all." Tommy replied.

"We'll be back in a little bit." Rose told me. I nodded and her and Jack quickly left. There was an awkward silence between Tommy and me. I was still standing in front of the bench.

"It looks like they ditched us." He said, breaking the silence.

"It looks like they did." I agreed. He smiled.

"You know, ya can sit down if you want."

"Oh, yes. Right." I blushed again and sat on the bench, sitting next to him.

"Ellie, right?"

"Yes."

"Is that short for anything?"

"Yes, Eleanor. Eleanor DeWitt Bukater."

"I reckon that name is about a mile long."

"Ha, just call me Ellie and you'll be fine," I laughed. He held out his hand.

"Well, to formally introduce myself, I'm Tommy Ryan."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Mr. Ryan," I smiled, shaking his hand. His hand was soft and he had a nice, firm, grip. I also noticed that my hand fit perfectly in his.

"And it's a pleasure to make yours Miss Ellie," he smiled back.

We kept smiling at each other and soon, the smiles faded and we just stared at each other. I was taken by his eyes. They were so deep and dark and I couldn't look away. We stared into each others eyes and it seemed like forever. We didn't even let go of each other's hand. I felt my heart pounding and I wondered how his lips would feel pressed against mine.

"I think we can stop shaking hands now," he grinned.

"Oh, yes. Right." I knew I was blushing now.

He chuckled, placing his hands on his lap. "So, Ellie. What brings you here on this very fine ship?"

"To go back home to Philadelphia. My sister is getting married."

"Oh really? That's exciting."

"I guess so. Rose doesn't seem so happy about it."

"Really?" Tommy questioned.

"She doesn't love him."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"She'll get through it. She's a fighter," I sighed, "And what about you? Why are you here?"

"To start a new life in America."

"Where are you from?"

"Queens, Ireland. I've lived there my whole life. Most of my kin lives there. They all wanted to come, but we could only afford one person to go and since I'm the older than my brother and more eager to travel, everyone thought I should go. And as soon as I get there, I'm going to find a good job and hopefully start a family."

"So you're traveling by yourself?"

"Yes. But, it's good because now I finally have some time to myself. Most of the time, I was working. I used to be a shipyard worker."

"Really?"

"Yes. Did you know that this ship was built down in Ireland by 15000 Irishmen? My father actually helped build this."

"Wow, I didn't know that."

"Most people don't. They consider this an English ship."

"That's what I thought it was."

"My point exactly. I'm assuming you're from Philadelphia?"

"Yes," I nodded, "I grew up there. It's been hard since my father passed away."

"Oh, I'm sorry…" his voice trailed off.

"It's alright. It's been a year," I shrugged. "He was a good man. My mother has just been not the same ever since," I sighed.

"That's bound to happen," he said, "It's normal."

"It's all for the wrong reasons," I said quietly. Before he could ask anything, I quickly asked him another question. "How old are you, Mr. Ryan?

"Twenty two," he grinned, "And please, call me Tommy. How old are you?"

"Twenty."

More silence.

"May I ask you a more personal question, if you don't mind?" he suddenly asked.

"Go right ahead."

"Do you have a man waiting for you in Philadelphia?"

"I do not." I replied.

"So you're not married?"

"I am not."

"Really? I find that hard to believe."

"I just never found that right man," I replied.

"Really?" his eyebrows raised.

"Really."

We locked eyes again for a moment. He smiled again, and he held out his hand.

"Would you like to take walk with me, Miss Ellie?"

I smiled back, taking his hand as he helped me up off the bench.

"Of course."

** And now the real fun begins. Review, review, review! **


	4. A Real Party

**Yay! More reviews! Boy, do they make my day. Thank you to everyone for feedback, it really means the world to me. I would have updated yesterday as planned, but I was super busy! I had my last high school choir concert...Insane! But so much fun 3 But anyway, thanks to all who are reading and giving feedback. Means a lot!**

**And on one more note, with these next few chapters I will be changing points of view to spice things up a bit. That is all!**

**This one is long, so hold on to your seats!  
**

_**-Christine**_

_Chapter 4: Ellie_

"You didn't!"

"I did! I completely blackened some of my teeth with my father's shoe polish."

The sun was setting now and Tommy and I were still walking together, now laughing hysterically.

"Well, aren't you the typical first class lady?"

"Listen, I was going to do everything I could to prevent George from proposing to me! I couldn't marry him! He was such a weasel," I said, shaking my head. Tommy laughed again. "I knew he hated bad teeth on a woman so, I jumped right on that."

"I bet your mother was so proud of you."

"Oh, she hated me. She was screaming at me all night," I chuckled, leaning over the railing. Tommy was smiling at me.

"Does she still hate ya for that?"

"She completely gave up on me," I said, smiling sadly, "She doesn't even try anymore. Since my father died, she's been more concerned about Rose finding a husband with money. We're going to lose everything if she doesn't marry Cal. Not that I care, of course. I'm tried of wearing corsets and dealing with fancy things."

We didn't say anything for awhile. We were just looking out to the ocean, both leaning over the railing. The sunset looked so beautiful out in the horizon, the sky a deep pink, mixed with red and orange.

"Miss Ellie, you are the more strange first class woman I have ever met," Tommy suddenly said, looking at me. I just smiled.

"Why, thank you."

It was then the dinner horn sounded. As if trained, my stomach rumbled automatically.

"Dinner?" Tommy asked. I nodded.

"Yes, it is getting late. And I am starving."

"Me too," he said. He then paused for a moment. "You know, we third class people usually all meet in the general room afterwards, for dancing and things of that sort. It's quite fun if you would like to join me after dinner."

I smiled. That sounded fantastic. I had no plans anyway, I was probably going to just take a stroll around the deck.

"That sounds great, Tommy."

"Good," he smiled, "I'll be looking for you there around eight," he stood up and took my hand again like he did earlier. I looked into his eyes and smiled back at him, not letting go of his hand.

"I'll see you then."

* * *

Dinner that night was...well, entertaining. Mother wouldn't stop asking Jack so many questions and personally, I felt bad for the boy. Anyway, it was obvious that mother wasn't too fond of him. The good thing was that Jack did pretty well under pressure. He was an artist apparently, and he traveled from place to place. I thought that was pretty interesting. I considered him to be lucky. Traveling all over Europe and visiting places like Paris and London seemed like a dream. If I had the chance I would trade in my life for a life like his. Jack was quite a character, and I could see why Rose seemed to like him. He had more of a personality than Mr. Hockley did.

After dinner, I noticed that Jack handed Rose a note. When he was gone and while Rose was getting up from the table, I followed her out of curiosity. Maybe she was going to meet him down in the general room too.

"What does that note say?"

"It's none of your business." Rose said flatly.

"Is it a love note or something?" I teased.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I am not! I see the way you two look at each other. But please Rose, let me see it. What do you think I'm going to do, tell mother and Cal?" I gave her a serious look. She sighed.

"Alright, fine. I'll let you see it. But that's only because I'll never hear the end of it from you." I grinned as she handed me the small slip of paper.

_Make it count_

_Meet me at the clock_

"I'm coming with you to meet him."

"Ellie, no..."

"I'm going to meet Tommy anyway."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. Jack can probably direct me to where I need to go," I linked my arm with hers, impersonating Cal. "Now come along, sweet pea. Mr. Dawson is waiting."

* * *

"Hello ladies," Jack smiled. We were at the top of the Grand Staircase now, right in front of the clock. "So, do you wanna go to a real party?"

Rose looked confused. I grinned at him. I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Follow me," he said. Without any question, we followed him all they way down to D deck, going down staircases and all.

"Jack, where are you taking us?" Rose asked.

"You'll see. You're going to love it, trust me," he said, flipping his blonde hair.

We went down another flight of stairs, which brought us down to E deck. Following Jack, we made our way through a small, narrow hall. I noticed how third class areas were much different from what Rose and I were used to. The floors were a dark burgundy and the walls were an off white. There was no carpeting whatsoever. I began to feel sympathetic. Just because you do not have as much money as others does not mean that you should be treated any differently. It just isn't right. Being down here was like a whole other world I was never exposed to.

Jack brought us to the third class lounge, also known as the general room. We entered the room filled with people everywhere. Some of them were sitting down at tables socializing, laughing with fellow passengers while sharing a beer. The smell of smoke from cigarettes and cigars filled the air. But most people were dancing to music a band was playing. The band included instruments like bagpipes, drums, fiddles, and even a pair of spoons.

I smiled to myself.

Where had this been all my life?

As soon as we entered, everyone's eyes turned to Rose and I. We were so out of place. I mean, here we were, wearing our fancy gowns and jewelry while everyone else was dressed in cheaper clothing. I began to feel guilty for wearing my beaded, emerald colored, silk gown and emerald earrings and necklace that matched. I felt my face grow hot. And it felt even hotter when I noticed Tommy sitting at a table

"Rose, I feel ridiculous," I whispered to her, "I feel…extremely overdressed," I sighed. Rose just laughed.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure other people don't care. They'll probably be wondering why we're down here, but other than that, I see no reason why they would care," her voiced trailed off and she noticed that my eyes were glued on Tommy. She grinned and looked over at Jack, "Hey Jack, isn't that your friend over there?" she asked.

"The one your sister is staring at? Yes, that's Tommy. I introduced him to you earlier," Now he was grinning too. I felt my face grow hot again.

"Aren't you supposed to meet him?" Rose asked.

"Yes, but now I feel nervous!"

"Why?"

"Because he is extremely attractive!"

Rose and Jack started laughing at me. She gave me a nudge.

"Oh, stop acting like a child! Go!"

I opened my mouth to say something but I was interrupted.

"Jack!" We turned to see a young man with darker skin. I remembered him as the man who was talking to Jack and Tommy the other day out on the deck. "Your dinner with the first class people must have went well since you brought two of them down here with you, huh?" he grinned while he patted Jack on the back. Jack chuckled.

"This is Rose and her sister, Ellie. Rose, Ellie, this is my good friend Fabrizio. I met him a few months ago when I made my way from Paris to Italy. I needed somewhere to stay and his family was more than welcoming. Then him and I made our way to England and we won our tickets to _Titanic_ in a lucky hand of poker. A very lucky hand, as I mentioned before" Jack smiled, "Fabri and I have been on plenty of adventures together."

"That's nice," Rose smiled and began striking conversation.

I looked over at Tommy again. He was smoking and seemed to be in deep conversation with some other man. Did he even notice me?

I then looked away and turned my attention to my hair. It had been bothering me all night; it was pinned up tightly with a butterfly clip, beaded with green. I hated having my hair pinned up. I took it out and flipped my curly, untamable, dark-brown hair, letting it hang loose. I looked back over at Tommy again. His eyes were right on me. When my eyes met his, he smiled. I smiled back. He then said something to his friend, and made his way over to me. He greeted Rose, Jack, and Fabrizio, and then turned to me

"Hello Ellie," he smiled again.

"Hi." I blushed, smiling back.

"You look lovely," he complimented, "You didn't need to get all dressed up for me."

I shook my head, giving him a little push.

"Oh stop," I grinned. He took a drag from his cigarette then.

."Want a smoke?"

"Sure." I never smoked before, but I couldn't turn down a cigarette from a man I liked. It would make me look like an idiot. Besides, if mother hated it, I would love it. Tommy handed me one from his pocket and lit it.

"Since when do you smoke?" I turned to see Rose, who had her arms crossed, wearing this stupid grin on her face.

"Oh, I've been smoking for awhile." I lied.

"Right...I forgot." she was still grinning. I rolled my eyes and inhaled the thick, black smoke. In reaction, my mouth went dry and my lungs hardened. I tried not to cough, but that didn't work out too well. I started bursting into a horrible coughing fit, which sent Rose, Jack and Fabrizio bursting into hysterics.

"Are you alright?" I could tell that Tommy was trying to hold back laughter.

"I'm fine." that was a lie too.

"I don't think you are. Come here and sit down." He put his arm around me (which I didn't acknowledge at the moment since I was more concerned about my lungs turning to dust) and led me to a seat.

I was still coughing, but after a few minutes, I finally started breathing normally.

"So are you ok now?"

"Yes, I'm fine." I looked over at Rose and Jack. They were dancing now. Cal would not be happy.

"It looks like your sister is really hitting it off with Jack." Tommy was looking over as well.

"It does." I couldn't help but smile. She didn't look at Cal the same way she looked at Jack. There was just something between them. That light she had in her eyes when we were growing up was back again.

"I'm sure Mr. Hockley wouldn't be so happy about that."

"Oh believe me, he wouldn't be."

"How do you feel about your sister getting married anyway? She's younger than you, isn't she? Ever felt jealous?" he said in a joking tone.

"Jealous? Of course not, I'm happy for my sister," I paused for a moment. "I just feel awful since she's put in the position she's in. I mean really, he's such a bastard."

"And a rich one at that."

The two of us laughed then and soon, we were just smiling at each other.

"You know El, you really do look lovely tonight," Tommy changed the subject. I could feel myself blushing.

"Thanks!"

"Do you want to dance?" he suddenly asked. My eyes widened.

"Um...oh, well, I don't know the steps or anything. And I can't dance."

"So? That doesn't matter, I can't either. I never do this," he stood up and took my hand. "Come on. What's there to lose?" He grinned. I began to consider.

"Fine..." I gave in. Tommy's grin grew wider and we made our way to the dance floor.

"I'm not so sure how to do this," I said as we got onto the floor.

"Oh it's not that difficult, give me your hands," he said. I held them out and he placed my left on his shoulder and held my right. I began feeling butterflies in my stomach as I felt him place his free hand on the small of my back. There was barely any space between us as he pulled me closer. "Comfortable?" he asked. I nodded in response, my heart beating like the bass drum in the room.

We tried our hardest to dance to the light and upbeat music being played. We tripped over own feet numerous times and we just laughed about it. Usually, I would have felt extremely embarrassed. But this time, I didn't. I just felt awfully comfortable around Tommy. I didn't feel awkward around him, even though I was an appalling dancer. But he just made me smile and got me to laugh. Never had any man got me to laugh as hard as he did, nor had any man managed to get my stomach to churn by just having his arm around my waist.

* * *

"So, it's a fact. You can't smoke and you can't dance."

"I can! It was just the first time I had smoked before, I'm not used to it. And that music was too difficult to dance to, it was too fast for my liking."

"Excuses," Tommy grinned, "And wait. You lied to me about smoking?"

"Yes…" my voice trailed off, "I'm sorry I was dishonest, I just didn't want to look like a fool."

"Oh, you wouldn't have. I can already tell that you worry too much," he threw his arm around me and ruffled my hair. We both had a few drinks in us and it was almost two in the morning now. He and I were walking along the deck now, getting some fresh air before taking me to my entrance. I giggled as he continued messing with my hair.

"Cut it out!" I scolded playfully as hair got all in my face. He chuckled and we stopped walking as he cut in front of me to brush my hair out of my face. As he tucked a curl behind my ear, I could feel myself blushing. He grinned.

"Are you blushing, El?"

"No…" I said, blushing even more.

"I reckon you are."

"No…" I said again. I looked up at the stars, hoping to change the subject, "Look!" I pointed, giggling, "Look at the stars!"

They were absolutely beautiful; the entire night sky was filled with them. They were like spots of white paint on a black canvas or little diamonds that were thrown up into the air and just stuck to the sky, secure and never falling, sparkling and shining brightly.

"They're so small," Tommy said, "There's so many of them."

"They're absolutely amazing. Every time I see them fill up the sky like that it takes my breath away," I refused to look away from them. It had been a long time since I had seen them fill up the sky like that, especially since we lived in the city. "Sometimes I wish I could fly right up there and grab one, and just bring it down here, and then throw it up again so I could put it back in its' place."

"If only it were possible."

"I know. They're so endless…and just so beautiful."

"They are. But I don't think they're as beautiful as you," Tommy suddenly said. I turned and saw him looking right at me. My eyes held onto his gaze.

"Isn't that a bit cliché?" I asked, smiling.

"It may be. But I don't care," he pulled me close and held onto my waist tightly, my back pressing against his chest. He was now holding me tightly in his arms. I felt my stomach churn once again and my heart was beating fast. I prayed he wouldn't notice. But something about this felt right. Yes, I had only just met him hours before. But isn't love or attraction at first sight possible.

"Do you fancy me, Mr. Ryan?" I teased.

"Why? Is it showing?" he grinned.

"Maybe just a little." I said, turning towards him and grinning back. At that moment he held me in a tight embrace.

"You know we're right outside your stop now." Tommy pointed out. I turned and noticed the first-class entrance a few feet away.

"And so we are," I said.

"It is pretty late, it's the very early beginning of a new day. You should probably get some rest."

"I probably should.

"Do you mind if I would kiss you goodnight, Miss Ellie?" Tommy asked, his eyes not leaving mine. I felt my heart skip a beat; the thought of his lips pressing against mine gave me many more butterflies in my stomach.

"Not at all," I smiled widely, bringing my face closer to his.

Tommy smiled as well and then he leaned in closely and instead of kissing my lips like I expected, he kissed me right on the cheek. His lips felt so soft and firm, I felt my body completely freeze.

"Eleanor Dewitt Bukater!" I whipped around and saw mother, standing right outside of the first-class door.

"You should probably go now," I whispered to him.

"When can I see you again?" he asked quickly.

"Hopefully soon, early afternoon."

"I'll meet you here at noon tomorrow, ten hours from now." He smiled.

"Alright, I'll meet you here."

"Good. Goodnight Miss Ellie," he reached over and gave my hand a tight squeeze.

"Goodnight Mr. Ryan," I smiled. He smiled back and with that, he ran off. I turned back to mother, looking furious.

"What was the meaning of that?"

"Oh mother, it was nothing."

"It sure didn't look like nothing!"

"Well maybe I like him."

"Well maybe you shouldn't," mother crossed her arms. "You shouldn't interfere with people like that Eleanor. People like us don't mingle with those kinds of people."

"Why not?"

"They're not like us. They're gutter rats."

"Gutter rats? That's a new one," I rolled my eyes. "It's quite late mother. You should be in bed."

"Where is your sister?"

"She's having fun." I stated flatly. Mother said nothing.

"People like that are not our kind, Eleanor.

"Why, just because they're not as lucky as us? You know, if you weren't making Rose marry Cal we would be down there with them."

"I'm not making Rose do anything."

"Yes you are! God mother, are you that oblivious?"

"Interfering with those people is bad news."

"At least they have some idea on how the world works. And they have a bigger heart than you will ever have. They don't look up to some rich man to solve their problems." I said dryly. Mother's eyes narrowed.

"You are not to see that young man again, you hear me?"

"I'm twenty years old, I can do what I want."

"Not while I'm here. Now, it's getting late. Go get some rest."

"I will." I angrily brushed past her.

"Wait, Eleanor," mother gave me a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. But they're not like us. Associating ourselves with those people makes us look bad. Just forget about him and you'll be fine." she placed a cold kiss on my forehead. I shuddered and headed to my cabin.

Forget about him? She expected me to forget about him? How could I do that? It was impossible, utterly impossible.

But then I began to worry…Who was this Tommy Ryan anyway? I didn't know everything about the man. What was going on? Would I even see him again after the ship docked? Confusion went through me.

I had no idea what I was feeling, what I should do.

I flopped onto my bed and groaned.

Why was this man who I just met hours ago not getting out of my head? There was something about him…Something I couldn't place. No one had ever made me feel this way before. What was going on inside my head?

I then realized it when it was three in the morning.

I was falling for Tommy Ryan. And there was no way I could fall for a man…Especially so quickly.

I was setting myself up for devastation. This was a man I did not know, who I might not even see again.

I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. I felt fear inside me the more I realized how much I actually felt for Tommy after only a few hours.

This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

**I really put so much effort into this chapter...Almost 4,000 words! Crazy! Please review! It really does mean so much!**

**I do have one question. This chapter is about ten pages on a word doc. Should I break it up into two when I turn this fanfic in to my teacher?  
**

**Much thanks!  
**


	5. Falling for You

**Thank you to everyone for their input! It really does mean so much to me! Thank you for making my days! This is the first chapter when I start changing points of view. Enjoy!**_**  
**_

_**-Christine**_

_ Chapter 5: Tommy**  
**_

I fell right to sleep when I got to my cabin. I woke up a few hours later thinking about the night before. No woman had ever managed to catch my attention as quick as El did her. Sure, things had seemed to be going fast. I never kissed a woman on her cheek after knowing her for only a few hours. But…I liked it. I found myself thinking of her long dark hair, her hazel eyes (which seemed closer to green), her laugh, smile. And her lips...Those full lips I literally restrained myself from kissing last night.

I really did fancy her. And maybe it was more than just a matter of "fancying." It was too soon to tell. But what I did know was that there was something special about Miss DeWitt Bukater. And I couldn't stop thinking about her. I felt like I was going crazy. After lying in bed for a good while, I decided I needed some advice on such a subject. Jack was an attractive young lad who had relationship experience. I figured he would be able to help, so I got myself out of bed to go find him. As I thought I would, I found him down in the General Room.

"Good morning Jack," I greeted, walking over to him.

"Hello there, Tommy. How are you this fine morning?"

"A bit lost, actually. I need advice."

"On?"

"Romance..." my voice trailed off. Jack grinned.

"Ellie, I'm assuming?"

"Yes...I really like her. She's just…"my voice trailed off, "She's something, Jack. She's really something."

"In love already?" Jack teased.

"Jack, I don't think that's possible. I just met her yesterday. It hasn't even been a whole day."

"Love works in mysterious ways, in my opinion," Jack said. "Maybe you just have a case of love at first sight. If not love, then lust or attraction."

"It's too soon to tell."

"Well, what exactly do you feel when you spend time with this woman?"

"I don't know…I mean. I thought she was absolutely beautiful when I first laid eyes on her. And after having conversations with her and just spending a few hours with her…I dunno, she just makes me smile. She's so cute, Jack. She has the prettiest eyes too. I have to stop myself from staring at them, sometimes. I know I haven't known her for that long, but as I said…there's something about her. I just have the urge to tell her everything I feel."

"That's it."

"What?"

"Just tell her everything you just told me."

"Jack, it's not that simple, what if she thinks I'm crazy?"

"Then so be it. Tommy, if not now, then when? When will you see this woman again after the ship docks?" he questioned. I shrugged in response. "Look," he began, "I know this is all crazy. I completely understand. But when it comes to things like this, you gotta take a chance. It's risky but it may be worth it. You don't want to end up thinking about what could have been for the rest of your life."

"I guess you have a point there."

"Just think about it, alright?"

"I will, Jack. Thanks."

"No problem. Do you think you're going to see her again?"

"Hopefully at noon."

"Good. If you take what I said into consideration…I wish you good luck. I really know how you feel," he patted me on the back, "Let me know how things go."

"Thanks. And I will."

"Alright, good."

"Yeah," I stood up to leave, "Thanks again, Jack, it really means a lot. I'll see you around."

"Yes you will." He grinned.

As I left the room I looked over at the clock and noticed it was 11:30. Feeling knots in my stomach, I headed toward the first class entrance to meet Ellie. And I prayed that there would be no officers around to stop me.

_**Ellie**_

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. After attending mass with my family, I quickly left them to go out to the deck to meet Tommy. I did not have much time; I was supposed to go on a tour of the ship with mother, Rose, and Cal. I was not even sure how he would be able to meet me, considering third class passengers were not allowed in our area. He was able to get away with that late at night since not many officers were out on duty, but it was close to the middle of the day now. I feared it may be entirely impossible.

I also feared that this whole situation with him just might be entirely impossible as well. None of this made sense. I did have feelings for him. I found him to be highly attractive and his personality was laid back and was exactly what I wanted in a man. He was great. But how did I know this was actually real? I had only known him for practically a day. I was starting to think that maybe mother was right. I sighed heavily, and leaned over the rail, a few feet away from the first class entrance. I looked out to the ocean and just wished I could escape there for a while. I noticed Tommy on the deck below me. Taking a deep breath, I called his name.

"Hey!" I shouted. He looked up and smiled.

"Hi, El."

"I don't want getting into trouble," I began, "Stay there and I'll meet you."

He nodded and with that, I darted down the deck and climbed down the nearby ladder to meet him. Within a few moments I was standing in front of him. He let out a small smile.

"Hi," he said again.

"Hi..." I said, my voice trailing off. There was an awkward silence between us.

"Listen El," he began, "About last night..."

"Yes, Tommy, I really need to talk to you about that."

"Well, can I go first?" he asked, "I just need to get this off my chest."

I looked back at the upper deck. Mother could appear with Rose and Cal any minute.

"Alright, go on. I don't have much time." I said. He took a deep breath and looked into my eyes.

"I had a great time with you last night, El. And I have to be honest, I feel like things are moving kinda fast between us."

"I know," I began, "Tommy, I-"

"But I love it," he suddenly said. I froze.

"What?"

"El, I know things are moving fast. That's the reason why I didn't actually kiss you last night. It's strange, I know. But I have to be honest with you, I never felt this way about a woman. There really is something special about you, and I don't know what it is yet. But El, I think I'm falling for you."

I didn't know what to say. My face felt flush and my head was suddenly spinning.

"Tommy, I don't know what to say..." I answered quietly, "I really have no idea."

"Just say you feel the same," he smiled, taking my hand. I looked down at my feet, still unsure of what to say.

God, he was so sweet. I really wanted to confess my feelings to him too. I felt exactly the same. I wanted to throw my arms around him and feel him hold me in an embrace.

But I barely knew him. I could be setting myself up for getting hurt.

I then looked up and saw mother, Rose and Cal. I panicked.

"I-I...this can't work out." I stammered.

"What do you mean?" he looked hurt and confused. I sighed.

"I can't see you, alright? We're from two different worlds...I don't see how this, er, us can work out," I was stumbling over my words. God, I was an idiot.

"Well what do you expect me to do then?"

"Just...forget about me..." my voice trailed off.

"Forget about you? Really? How the hell can I do that? Haven't you heard anything I just said?"

"Of course I did, but-"

"Your mother got to you, didn't she?"

"What?"

"Your cold-hearted bitch of the mother completely changed your view on me after last night. I know she did, otherwise you wouldn't be like this."

"She didn't say anything to me."

"Christ, now you're lying," he shook his head, "What happened to that girl I met yesterday?"

I was quiet for a moment. I felt like such an ass up to this point. We were snapping at each other already. What the hell was I doing?

"None of this is easy for me, Tommy. I think all of this is insane! But what does it matter? It's not like we'll see each other again after this. As soon as this ship docks, it's over. What's the damn point?" We were snapping at each other now. Tommy just shook his head.

"You are just like one of them," he said. "I feel like such an ass. I should have known. You should never fall for a woman that has money," looking very hurt he turned away. But then he turned back to face me, "Just do me one favor and think about what I said. Alright?"

"Alright."

"And no matter what you may think El, you really got a hold on me," he said, looking into my eyes. I bit my bottom lip, restraining myself from tearing up. And with that, he left.

I didn't say anything for a moment. I just stood there in the middle of the deck, feeling so hurt and oh so stupid.

I had just rejected the man of my dreams.

Holding myself back from crying, I headed back to the upper deck.

"There you are Eleanor!" I heard mother's voice behind me. I shivered. "Are you ready to accompany us on the tour? Mr. Andrews just shown us the gym, it's quite marvelous!"

I took a deep breath, pasting on a fake smile. Then I turned towards her.

"Oh yes, I am mother. I can't wait."

_**Tommy**_

Call it what you want. But what I felt was far worse than a slap to the face, or punch to the stomach. I felt as if my heart had been stabbed. My head was in confusion, and I just felt lost. But mostly, hurt. I'm sure Ellie was in confusion too, her mind in a bunch. I just knew it. Or hoped anyway. That wasn't the Ellie I met yesterday. I was still down on the lower deck. I was leaning over the railing, staring down at the ocean going by.

"How'd it go?" I turned around and saw Jack.

"Her mother got to her before I did."

"Oh..." Jack gave me a sympathetic look. I turned back around and looked back out to the horizon. "I'm sorry."

"Oh well. It doesn't really matter," I sighed. "I'll forget about her soon enough."

"Well, at least you don't have live with her when the ship docks," he joked. I looked at him then.

"Don't ever trust a lass with money, Jack. They'll put that before love any day."

**Pwease review! :D**


	6. Listen to your Heart

**Quick update! I've been writing like crazy for class! Enjoy!**

_Chapter 6: Ellie_

"And here are the kennels, where we keep all the dogs and any other pets passengers may bring. One passenger even brought some roosters and chickens!" Mr. Andrews seemed to love his ship and care about the passengers. I couldn't blame him, it was so grand and elegant, even though third class wasn't accommodated like us, not one bit. I felt like a zombie. I was silent the majority of the tour and when I did speak, I was completely monotone.

"Ellie, what's wrong? You were quiet all morning and you seem to be bitter." Rose and I were walking behind everyone else so they wouldn't hear our conversation.

"Nothing is wrong, Rose."

"Are you sure? Be honest with me." She looked concerned. I started to feel pretty bad, if Rose were

bothered by something I would be the first she would talk to. I sighed and looked up at her.

"I can't talk about it now, It kills me." I sighed.

_Tommy_

"Jack, just forget about her."

He ignored me and continued making his way towards the first class area. Fabrizio and I exchanged glances.

"And how did he talk us into this?" I asked the Italian. He shrugged.

"Hey, lift me over this gate." Jack commanded.

"Look, Jack, forget about her. She'll mean nothing to you once you get off this ship."

Jack was crazy for falling for Rose. He was just setting himself up for disappointment, just as what I did earlier. He didn't take anything I said into consideration. He was a stupid, stupid man. We couldn't associate ourselves with those women of an upper class. Money came first. Money came before friendship, family, love. Rich bastards had no souls because they were just filled with greed.

"She just needs to know how I feel."

"She has a fiancé."

"Uh huh, whatever," he completely disregarded what I said, "Now seriously, lift me up. And Fabrizio, you help." I sighed. The man was too determined. He wasn't going to listen to me. He was just going to end up feeling the pain I felt.

We got Jack over the gate and he ran off to go find Rose. I shook my head and turned to Fabrizio.

"He's crazy."

"He's in love." Fabrizio shrugged.

"Hey! you two can't be here!" an officer a few feet away from us yelled.

"Eh, we go, we go." Fabrizio barked as we turned around.

As we walked away, I couldn't hear anything except for Fabrizio's words, playing over and over in my head. 'He's in love.' Love. Love was…a load of shit. Every woman I had a relationship with had left me or hurt me in some way. Except for mum, of course. I thought Ellie was different. But I realized she wasn't. Love made me feel sick to my stomach, it was a joke. Was it ever real? In my opinion, it was sweet despair. I soon decided I didn't want anything to do with it.

_Rose_

"Ellie, let me come in..."

"No!"

"Ellie..." I knocked on her door for about the one-hundredth time now.

"I'm not letting you in!" she barked.

" "Yes you are! Come on El, talk to me! There's something bothering me too, you know."

I heard her sigh. There was a little rustle and the door was unlocked.

"Come in," she said. I entered and she locked the door behind me.

"So what's wrong?" I asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Nothing. It's just," she sighed, "love is so absurd."

"Tell me about it."

"I'm sure you don't have the same problem as me, Rose."

"Tell me what it is then," I exclaimed. She sighed again and lied down on her bed.

"What do you do when your heart is telling you something, but your mind is saying something else?"

"I don't understand."

"Tommy. He…He really likes me…I think it may be more than that…He talked to me today." She sighed.

"Wow, that was fast."

"I know," she smiled. I saw her eyes light up. I had never seen such a light in her eyes when we got on the subject of men.

"Well, how do you feel?" I asked. She shrugged.

"I- I don't know. I mean, he's handsome and has the greatest personality. I really do like him."

"Enough to love him?"

"Maybe. It's too soon to tell. I know that he's definitely not like most men. But I really hurt him today, Rose. I was so cold and heartless. Mother got to me and I saw you and her and Cal coming our way on the upper deck and she doesn't want me seeing him…I just panicked and turned him down. I feel like I slapped him in the face."

"That must've hurt."

"It hurt terribly! So now, I'm utterly confused."

"Of course you are. But let me tell you, I'm in the same boat as you...literally."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Jack has taken a fancying to me," I admitted. Ellie grinned.

"I saw that coming. What did he say?"

"Well, he didn't exactly come out and say it, but it was obvious enough."

"But what about Cal?"

"Look, I never really had any feelings for Cal, you know that. But I'm confused because I'm afraid if I don't marry him this family will fall apart," I lied down next to Ellie.

"I don't care," she said quietly

"I'm starting not to either," I sighed. We didn't say anything for a while. I looked up at the ceiling, taking in its details.

"It's not fair they're doing this to you," Ellie said, breaking the silence.

"I know," I turned to her and smiled. "Why can't they make you marry him? You're the oldest," she chuckled after hearing that statement.

"You're the prettiest. And I'm sure Cal would want a pretty young fiancée rather than and older average-looking one."

"Ellie, you're beautiful. And he's still older than you anyway, so why does it matter?"

"I don't know," she shrugged.

"I think it's a bit odd that mother is so concerned about me getting a fiancé and doesn't really care if you get one or not."

"I tend to scare off men mother wants me to marry. Remember what I did to George with my black teeth?" she grinned. I shook my head.

"That was cruel."

"It was hilarious!" she laughed. "And now she doesn't worry about finding the perfect husband for me anymore. You are the first on her list."

"Well thanks for doing that," I said sarcastically. She laughed a little and turned to me.

"You know, it's a bit funny that we both find someone here, so soon."

"Oh, it's absurd," I sat up and we were quiet again.

"I still don't know what to do." She eventually said, running her hand through her thick curls.

"Same here. But Ellie, here's the thing," I began, "You are the most independent person I know. You never really listened to mother's orders so why listen now?"

"I don't know. This situation is just...different."

"I don't see how it's different from any other situation," I stated.

"I'm never going to see him again when we get to New York, Rose," she said quietly. "I never felt this way about a man before. I don't want to set myself up for getting hurt. Why should I get myself involved with someone if I'm never going to meet him? I'm really confused, I just don't know what is right and what is wrong," she bit her bottom lip. I smiled at her sympathetically.

"Just listen to your heart. Then you can't be wrong."

"Maybe you should do the same," Ellie mumbled, I was really quiet after she said that. We had another awkward silence pass through us. "I really need to think things through," Ellie said quietly. "I need to be alone."

"You want me to leave? Are you sure?"

"Yes, please," she sat up, bringing her knees to her chest.

"Alright, fine," I said getting up. I took a few steps towards the door and turned the doorknob.

"Wait, Rose," she stopped me right before I left.

"Yes?"

"I just want you to know that you have a point. It's better to follow your heart than your head," she paused for a moment, "I'm still confused about all of this, but I'm going to take what you said into consideration. But really, thank you so much for listening."

"It's no problem. What are sisters for anyway?" I grinned, shutting the door behind me.

**Very very short, but the next chapter will be much longer. Reviews are appreciated and make me smile! :D**


	7. Together

**Happy chapter coming! Thank you EVERYONE. Your reviews really do make my day and it means so much to me. I work today, and my job is just awful. I have the feeling I'll get some input from this chapter so...I'm optimistic! Your reviews will be something to look forward to!**_  
_

**_-Christine_**

_Chapter 7: Ellie_

"So when's the wedding?"

"In two months. We sent the invitations already, three months in advance," mother smiled, and took a sip of her tea, "You wouldn't believe it, 500 invitations have gone out. But those bridesmaids gowns, oh! What an odyssey that has been. Rose decided that she wanted lavender-" I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to the people around me.

They were all the same, every single one of them. Stuck-up, high-class, pricks. It made no sense. I felt so out of place even though I was born into a family of them. I looked down at the complicated stitching of the carpet and the fine detailing of the walls and ceilings. It was nice and all, but it wasn't me. Why was here? Why was I acting like the daughter my mother wanted? I couldn't be that daughter, I refused to be that kind. But I made Tommy think I was one of them. I rejected him and made him think I didn't care about him. I felt absolutely awful, like I didn't have a heart. Tommy wasn't stuck up at all. He was down-to-earth and he had some idea of how things worked in real life. And he-

"Isn't that right, Eleanor?" I felt as if my mother just popped my bubble.

"Um, is what right, mother?"

"That Rose chose one of the most absurd colors for those bridesmaids gowns."

"Uh...yes, I guess so," I didn't even remember what color they were.

"Exactly! So anyway," Mother turned back to the Countess of Rothes. I sighed and took a sip of my tea. I wondered what Tommy was doing now. I turned to Rose, who was sitting next to me.

"I can't take this anymore," I whispered.

"I know...I can't either," she turned to mother, "Mother, Ellie and I need some fresh air. We're going to go take a walk on the deck."

"Alright, be back soon."

"We will," at that time I didn't know I was lying.

Rose and I left the Palm Court Cafe and made our way out to the upper deck. The sun was setting now, the sky painted with deep colors of orange, red, and pink.

"I know what I'm gong to do," Rose suddenly said.

"What?"

"It might seem like the wrong thing to do," she started, "but I want to be with Jack. I'm not going to marry Cal, I changed my mind."

"Are you sure? You're really taking that chance?"

"It's what I want," she smiled, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find him."

"You're leaving me? What am I supposed to do? I can't go back there!"

"Well, if I were you," the red-head placed her hand on my shoulder and leaned in, whispering, "I would go find Tommy."

"Rose..." I groaned. She just winked.

"If you two are meant to be together things will go by smoothly. You'll never know if you don't jump on the opportunity. I'll see you later," she turned around and left, not saying another word.

I shook my head and sat down on a nearby bench. I considered talking to Tommy. I couldn't stop thinking about those deep chestnut eyes, or that curly hair. I missed him. I wished I was with him. He was the nicest, most amazing man I had ever met. And I completely ruined my chances of being with him. It was too late now. I sighed. I was never going to find that one special man. Maybe I was destined to be alone the rest of my life.

"I'm so stupid," I said out loud. I hung my head low in my hands. At that moment everything just hit me and tears started streaming down my face. I couldn't stop crying. There weren't many people around and even if there were, I wouldn't care. I was an imbecile. I was so stupid…so very stupid…

"El?" It couldn't be. I whipped around and there he was.

"Tommy," I quickly stood up from the bench, "How did you get up here?"

"Rose got me in," he said, "She said you wanted to talk to me. I ran into her when she was coming down to meet Jack. I was hoping to see you anyway…" his voice trailed off. He could tell I was crying.

"Tommy, I just…There's just no way I can put how deeply sorry I am into words. I'm so stupid, I just panicked," tears started streaming down my face again. Tommy, looking confused, was just quiet. He came over to me and held me tightly in a warm embrace. I buried my face into his chest. At that moment I let myself go again and I cried while he held me in his arms.

"Sh…It's alright, El," he comforted me.

"No, Tommy, it's not," I looked into his eyes, "What I said earlier…I didn't mean it. What my mother said got to me and I was just over thinking. And when you told me how you felt about me, I saw her and Rose and Cal coming across the upper deck and I just freaked out. I didn't mean to hurt you, Tommy, honest. If you're angry with me and if you don't want to bother with me anymore, I completely understand." I sighed. Tommy looked at me as if I was crazy.

"El. Why would I possibly not want to bother with you? I never felt this way about any other woman before. There's something so special about you. I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier, I was just upset. I thought I had something and it just went away. I was hurt. But I didn't mean what I said. You're not one of them, you're a lot deeper than that."

"I completely understand why you reacted the way you did, I was cold hearted."

"You being cold hearted is impossible," he said looking into my eyes and wiping the tears off my face.

"You really think so?"

"I do. Miss Eleanor DeWitt Bukater, you are the most intriguing woman I have ever met. You captivate me."

"I feel the same way, Mr. Ryan." I smiled.

"Out of curiosity, why doesn't your mother's opinion affect you anymore?"

"I decided not to listen to my head," I paused for a moment, "but to my heart instead."

At that moment Tommy's face completely lit up and he smiled widely.

"Well let me tell you, I'm glad you decided not to listen to that silly little head of yours," he replied.

I giggled as Tommy scooped me up in his arms, lifting me off the ground and spinning me around, Then finally, our lips met for the first time. I felt tingles going all the way down to my toes, my knees felt weak. Having butterflies was a complete understatement. Everything around me grew hazy as the moment grew more and more passionate, kissing each other over and over again without stopping. This just felt so unbelievably perfect. I had not a clue of what exactly came over us, but the moment was strong. This was it. We wanted to be together. No questions asked. No opinions necessary. Things were going by quickly, yes. But this was more than just a typical case of "fancying" someone. I began to wonder if maybe there really was such a thing as love.

"This is crazy," he whispered once we separated.

"I know," I was smiling again, "but that's why I like it."

**I enjoyed writing this. (: Review review review!**


	8. Mr Andrews

**First off, I cannot thank all of you enough for all the positive feedback. Thank you all SO VERY MUCH. You really make my day, my night. They make me feel so special and make me feel as if writing this for the past for the past four years have really paid off.**_  
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**Thank you to each and every single one of you reading this. I really do love you all.  
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**God, I really wish I owned Titanic and knew James Cameron. Last night I had ANOTHER dream about Cameron making this into a movie XD I have issues. If only I came up with this idea at three years old...XD  
**

**This 13 year obsession with Titanic is so starting to pay off because of all of you readers. (:  
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**Thanks again!  
**

**_-Christine_  
**

_Chapter 8: Ellie_

"This is my favorite room," I unlocked the door to the sitting room.

I was decided to give Tommy a tour of the first class area. I knew the area very well, so I knew where to go to avoid officers from catching Tommy being up here.

"Wow," Tommy and I entered the room, hand in hand, "And what room is this again?"

"The sitting room," I just loved this room. It had decorative carpeting and the walls and ceiling, beautifully detailed. There were also paintings by Picasso and Monet, making the room more vibrant and colorful.

"It's nice," he said, sitting down on the couch.

"I know," I sat down at the room's piano and smiled over at Tommy. "This is my favorite part of the room," I set my fingers down on the keys and began playing from memory.

"You play piano?"

"Yes," I nodded, "my father taught me when I was young."

"Really?"

"Yes. He loved music."

"My mother taught banjo," Tommy grinned. I giggled.

"Banjo?"

"Don't laugh!" he scolded. I continued giggling as I turned my attention back to the piano.

I attempted to play each chord correctly. I messed up a few times but I didn't really care. I felt Tommy come up behind me, rubbing my shoulders. I blushed and stopped playing to look up at him.

"You know, I can't play while you're doing _that_."

"Well, I have soft spot for musicians," he grinned. I chuckled as I turned to wrap my arms around him.

"In that case Mozart can turn you on."

"Maybe he does." he said. I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling. I stood up then. He wrapped his arms around my waist, drawing me closer to him. I was pressed up against him now, feeling his muscular torso under his shirt.

"Did you know that your eyes change color?" he randomly asked.

"What?"

"Your eyes...they change color. Just earlier they were green and now they look more hazel."

"Really? I never knew that."

"Well, now you know. You have really beautiful eyes. Probably the prettiest I have ever seen."

"Thank you," I smiled.

"No need to thank me for the truth," Tommy grinned. He kissed me then, and I felt the same exact feelings I felt before. At that moment, I heard footsteps coming down the hall. I tensed.

"Did you hear that?" I asked, whipping around.

"Hear what?"

"Footsteps or something," as if on cue, the doorknob began turning, "Shit!" I jumped up and grabbed Tommy's hand. We darted to the room right next door, which was Rose's cabin. I closed the door and looked over at Tommy. We started bursting into hysterics.

"That," he said "was close."

"Uh huh," I pressed my ear against the door, trying to figure out who was now in the sitting room. "Oh my god, I think it's Jack and Rose!"

"Eh, let them be. They probably want to be left alone."

"Most likely," I took his hand, "Now come on, the tour isn't finished yet."

"There's more?"

"Oh, there's _a lot_ more," I winked. He chuckled and we started heading towards the Grand Staircase.

_Tommy_

I was unbelievably lucky. Ellie didn't care about what those high-class people thought. She didn't care about money, fancy clothes, or any other material items. I found it to be amazing that, out of all the men she could be with, she chose me. I felt bad for accusing her for being like them. I knew I was completely wrong now.

She had true feelings for me.

"And this is the Grand Staircase," she said. I looked to see the most elegant staircase I have seen.

"Wow...I can see why the call it grand."

"Yes, it's amazing. The glass dome is my favorite part about it."

I looked up to see the dome located at the top of the ceiling and it automatically became my favorite part as well.

"There isn't many people here," I noticed.

"Well it is getting quite late," she exclaimed, "I'm assuming many are in their cabins," she looked across the room at an older looking man and her face lit up. "Oh, Tommy! There's someone here I think you would love to meet."

"Who?"

"Mr. Andrews, the designer of the _Titanic_. He's right over there," she pointed, "I've noticed that you seem really into this ship, and he is the best person you could talk to about it," still holding her hand, I followed her over to the highly sophisticated looking man.

"Mr. Andrews!" she greeted, walking over to him.

"Hello Ellie," he smiled.

"I would like you to meet my close friend, Tommy Ryan."

"Hi," I smiled and shook his hand, "This is a very fine ship you designed here."

"Thank you. It was very hard work but it paid off in the end."

We both started talking about his extraordinary ship, which he talked about passionately. I mentioned how my father was one of the 15000 men that built the ship and he seemed quite interested. Eventually, Ellie stepped into the conversation.

"Mr. Andrews, may I ask you a question?" she asked.

"Of course," he smiled.

"Well, Rose told me that there aren't enough lifeboats for everyone on board. Is that true?"

"Actually, there's enough for about half," he admitted, "but there's nothing to worry about. This is a strong, unsinkable ship. If anything should happen, this ship should still stay afloat. We have water-tight doors and the best equipment. The first four levels could flood and it would make it."

"That's what I figured. It was just a thought that crossed my mind," Ellie said. Mr. Andrews smiled.

"Miss Ellie, you have nothing to worry about. Even the Lord himself cannot sink this ship."

**I think this is a short and pretty uneventful chapter, but oh well! Expect an update tomorrow! (:**

**And as always, don't forget to review, loves! (:**


	9. No Need to Worry

**I told you to expect an update today. So here it is. (:**

**_-Christine_  
**

_Chapter 9: Ellie_

"It's freezing out here!" I shivered. Tommy and I were walking side by side along the deck now. He took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

"Does that help?"

"A little," I smiled. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer.

"Is that any better?"

"Yes," I nodded. We walked a bit further. I looked up at the sky, once again painted with stars.

"Hey look," Tommy pointed, "Do you see Orion's belt?"

"Where? I don't see it."

"It's right there," he placed his hands on my hips, turning me to the left a bit and pointing. "Now do you see it?"

"Oh, there it is!" I smiled as I caught the constellation.

I haven't seen anything like it before. When you live in Philadelphia, you don't really notice the stars often. It was breathtaking.

"You know, I never seen a constellation before."

"You're kidding."

"I mean, I look up at the stars a lot, but not enough to actually notice any shapes or anything," I looked up at him and he smiled down at me.

"You're so beautiful, you know that?"

"No one other man has called me beautiful either," I blushed.

"No other man has said that to you? Now that's impossible."

"Well, a few called me pretty but never beautiful."

"I refuse to believe it."

"Believe it. Rose has always been the prettier one."

"I think you're prettier."

"Thanks, I'm flattered," I smiled.

We walked a bit further and we approached a bench. We lied down next to each other, looking at the stars. He held me tightly and I rested my head on his chest, hearing his heart beating. For the first time in my life I felt loved. I felt true happiness. This was really too good to be true.

"Can I ask you something, El?" Tommy asked abruptly.

"Sure, what is it?"

"This…is it just going to end?"

"What do you mean?"

"What's going to happen when we get off this ship? When we get to New York?"

"Oh," I stopped thinking about that after I told him my feelings. Reality was crashing now. "Well, I'm not sure Tommy."

"Why aren't you sure?"

"It all depends. I mean…I don't want this to end as soon as this ship docks. But I don't want to rush anything between us," I looked into his eyes, "I just want to do this right."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying, let's see how we feel when we get closer to New York. We have until Tuesday. If we want this to keep going, we'll make it happen. I just want to be sure it's what we really want," I explained, taking his hand. I laced my fingers through his. He didn't say anything for a moment, considering what I had just said.

"Alright. I can live with that." He smiled. I smiled back and he gave me a peck on the lips.

We sat there in silence for a bit, holding each other tightly. We were then taken completely off guard when a horrible, eerie, scraping noise was heard from the other side of the ship. My ears started ringing, my heart pounding.

"What was that?" I asked, jumping up.

"I don't know," Tommy sat up as well, "But I think we should go see what it is."

I didn't argue. Tommy stood up and took my hand, pulling me off the bench. We ran to the other side of the ship, quickly rushing. I gasped at what I saw as I leaned over the railing.

"God almighty," I said breathlessly, "Look."

I pointed to the huge iceberg slowly passing by. Tommy and I exchanged worried glances.

"Do you think it did any damage?" I asked.

"I doubt it. This is supposed to be the finest ship in the world. We should be fine."

"We should look for Rose and Jack," I said, "I wonder if they saw it."

"I guess we should," he took my hand, "They're probably down in the general room."

"Maybe," I looked up at him, "Mother might know where Rose is. I want to ask her."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Yes," I gripped onto his hand, "And you're coming with me."

* * *

"Are you sure you want me here?" Tommy asked. We were standing outside the sitting room, I knew mother and Cal were in there. I nodded.

"I don't care what they think, Tommy. We won't be long anyway."

He sighed as I opened the door. Mother was sitting on the couch with Cal. They looked at me automatically, with a disgusted look on their face as they saw Tommy. I ignored the looks.

"Mother, have you seen Rose?"

"No," she replied coldly.

"No need to worry, Eleanor," Cal stood up, "Lovejoy is taking care of it. He'll find her," he paused for a moment, "But if you find her first, tell her your mother is concerned."

I nodded in response.

"I will, Cal." I lied, "I'll keep looking."

Before they could say anything else, Tommy and I were out the door. He held onto my hand tighter.

"Well, they looked happy," he said sarcastically. I looked up at him, giving him a look.

"At least it was quick."

"Maybe they're down in the General Room," Tommy suggested.

"It wouldn't surprise me."

So there we went. And there we didn't find them. Or in any other rooms in the lower decks. I started to get worried but soon, exhaustion took over. It was close to midnight anyway, and I was up for mass at seven in the morning.

"You look really tired, El," Tommy noticed. I nodded,

"I really am. But I'm worried too."

"You shouldn't be," Tommy said. We were walking down another hall now, very quiet and peaceful. "My room is coming up soon," Tommy said. "We should get some sleep, we'll find them in the morning,"

"Alright," I said quietly.

We were right in front of his cabin now. He took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

The room was much simpler than my room, but I thought it was cute. Instead of one big bed, he had a bunk bed.

"I guess we have to share the bottom," he grinned sheepishly as I noticed his suitcase and clothing all over the top bunk.

"That's fine," I giggled.

It didn't take long for us to get comfortable. I curled up next to him as he held me. I looked into his eyes.

"I'm still worried."

"I already told you El, don't be. This is a strong, sturdy ship. It's unsinkable. We're fine. Everything is going to be fine," he kissed the top of my forehead. "Don't worry yourself sick. Get some rest, alright?"

"Alright," I sighed.

We shared a long kiss then. Tommy held me tighter.

"You don't have anything to worry about. I'll be here."

"I know you will be," I said quietly.

Soon, I drifted off to sleep, feeling warm and safe in his arms.

**Review! :D**


	10. Disaster Strikes

**Thank you all for the feedback! I love you all so much!**

_Chapter 10_: _Tommy_

Ellie seemed to have fallen asleep. She was underneath my arm, wrapped in a blanket. I looked down at her sleeping figure. Her brown curls flowed and her cheeks were a rosy pink. She looked so peaceful. It didn't even take her that long to fall asleep, only a few moments. Not being able to fall asleep, I sat up. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Groaning, I stood up.

"Holy shit!" I looked down at the floor, completely wet. _Titanic_ flooding? It seemed impossible. I answered the door and my cabin neighbor, Stan, from down the hall was standing before me.

"Look, I-I think the ship is sinking." He stammered.

"You think?" I said, glancing down at the floor.

"Well, I would leave as soon as possible. I hear they're going to shut down the elevators."

"I was already planning on getting out of here," I smiled nervously. Stan nodded and left without saying another word.

I turned back to my room and threw most of my valuables into my bag. Throwing it over my shoulder, I walked over to Ellie, still sleeping soundly.

"El, wake up, we need to get to the upper deck," I placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her. She groaned and pulled the blanket over her head. "Come one, El..wake up," I shook her once more. She groaned again and sat up.

"What's wrong?" she yawned.

"The ship's sinking... "

"_What_?" she immediately jumped out of bed...and then felt the shock of the cold water surrounding her feet, "Shit, this water's cold!"

"Here, take this," I handed her one of my sweaters from my bag. She quickly threw it over her dress and gripped my hand.

"Let's get out of here."

We left the cabin in a heartbeat. The hall was filled with other third class passengers, running down the narrow passageways. I held Ellie's hand tightly and we followed many others. As we walked a bit further, I noticed Fabrizio poke his head out of his cabin.

"Come on, let's get the hell out of here," I said to him. He shuffled back to his room to gather his belongings, "Come on, hurry up!"

"I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying," he barked.

I looked down at Ellie. Her face was pale and there was panic in her eyes.

"Are you alright, El?"

"I-I'm fine," she stammered.

_Ellie POV_

How could _Titanic_ sink? It seemed impossible, utterly impossible. I just felt so scared, so nervous. I suddenly felt sick. Everything seemed to be rushing by in a blur.

"Don't lie to me," Tommy said. I blinked, feeling myself falling back to reality once more. " I know you're not fine."

"How could you _not _be panicking at a time like this?"

"Just try not to think about it, we'll be fine," he looked down at me, "I know we'll be fine."

Looking into his eyes, I noticed I wasn't the only one scared. He had a worried look in his eyes and I knew he was nervous.

"I'm scared, Tommy," I said quietly.

"I know. I am too," that's when he cupped my face in his hands and kissed me passionately, in front of everyone walking by. He then held me tight and looked into my eyes, "Now listen. We're going to get out of here and we'll get on a lifeboat. Who knows, maybe this is the only floor that's going to flood and we'll all be fine."

"I hope that's the case."

"Alright you two, we don't exactly have time for mushy stuff, but we should really get going, Fabrizio said, stepping out of his cabin.

I looked down each side of the narrow hall. The rest of the passengers were slowly disappearing.

"Which way do we go?"

"Hey look!" Tommy pointed to a group of rats scurrying right past us.

"We should follow them," Fabrizio suggested, already walking towards them. Tommy shrugged and held my hand in another tight grip.

"Well," he began, "if this is the direction the rats are going it's good enough for me."

**Review!**


	11. Trapped

**Longer than the last chapter! Thanks to all who reviewed and thanks to all who read! Your feedback really makes my day and means oh so much to me. Thank you all so very much. Please don't stop! It's gonna get crazy now!_  
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**-Christine  
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_Chapter 11_: _Rose_

"I don't see why people are fussing," Mother said, turning to Trudy, "Turn the heat back on in our rooms. I'd like a cup of tea when I return."

I sighed as I looked up at the Grand Staircase dome. People were running all around me, tripping over each other. I heard people getting yelled at to put their lifebelts on at least twice a minute.

I had other things to worry about other than putting on a damn lifejacket.

"He didn't take that diamond," I whispered to myself, "he couldn't have."

"Rose, don't be so upset," Cal scoffed, overhearing me, "that bastard's getting what he deserves." I looked up at him, glaring.

"You put that damn thing in his pocket, Cal. You set him up. I'm not stupid, don't try to hide it."

"Oh, don't be thinking outside the box, sweet pea," he said, smiling. "Would I really do something like that?" My glare hardened.

"Don't call me sweet pea," I said bitterly.

Cal opened his mouth to say something, but then I noticed Mr. Andrews out of the corner of my eye.

"Mr. Andrews!" I darted through others to get to him. I needed to know what was going on, how bad the ship was. If we were going down, I needed to know so I had enough time to find Jack and Ellie.

"Rose?" Mr. Andrews turned as I gripped onto his arm.

"Mr. Andrews," I began, "I saw the iceberg, and I see it in your eyes. Please tell me the truth."

_Ellie_

"Weren't we here already?" I asked biting my bottom lip.

"Everyone else is heading this way," Fabrizio said, his eyes scanning everyone. I could tell he was nervous. I also could tell he was looking for someone, judging by the desperate look he would get on his face every time we would end up in a new area.

We were on D-Deck now. We had no such luck on getting to C. Almost every staircase we got to was blocked by a large iron gate. We turned around another corner, leading us to a small flight of stairs. Quickly, we made our way to the top.

It was blocked by another gate.

"No!" I shouted, shaking the bars, "This is so absurd!"

Tommy didn't say anything, just nodded. I looked up at him. I could see anger burning in his eyes.

"Well-well maybe there's another one somewhere," Fabrizio said, his voice trailing off.

"But where?" I asked as I lowered my sweaty and clammy hands from the gate. I could feel tears welling in my eyes/

Tommy wrapped his arm around my waist and drew me closer to him.

"El, be strong," he said looking into my eyes. I bit my bottom lip but then noticed a man dressed in white out of the corner of my eye, running past the gate.

"Hey!" I shouted.

"Come back! Sir, open the gate! _Please_!" Tommy placed his hands on the cold, iron bars. The man, who turned out to be a steward, ran back to us.

"I'm sorry. I-I can't do that..." he stammered. "I'm just doing what I was told."

"It's flooding down here!" I was shaking now.

"Look, you just have to wait...th-the boats aren't ready yet, and-"

"There's women and children down here, damn it! Please, open the gate," Tommy pleaded.

"Please!" Fabrizio chimed in.

"I can't do that. You'll just have to wait."

"Wait for what? Wait to drown?" Tommy glared.

"You'll just have to find another way," the steward said right before he ran off.

"Bastard!" Tommy yelled after him.

"Come back!" I shouted at the top of my lungs

He never came back.

The three of us stood behind the gate in complete disbelief and pain. Tommy sighed and took my hand.

"Come on, let's keep looking."

I nodded as we headed back down the stairs. We were back at square one now. It was just an endless cycle.

We were never going to get out of here.

_Rose_

"Mother, you have to get to a lifeboat," I told her. I was shocked to find that this luxurious ship was going to be at the bottom of the Atlantic in a matter of two hours. Half the people of the ship were going to die. It felt like a nightmare.

"For what reason?"

"The ship is sinking, mother. You have to get off."

"Well Rose, surely you must get into one,"

"No mother," I shook my head, "I have to find Ellie."

"Your sister is probably out and about with that third-class boy she was with the other night," she shook her head, "Frankly, I don't really care what you're sister does anymore. She's disobeyed me enough," she looked at me gravely, "Plus she's not the one with a fiancé."

"Mother, I can't marry Cal. I don't love him,"

"In this case, I don't really care. Our family needs this marriage to happen. Just imagine what people would say about us. Oh, we would be social outcasts!"

"So you would make me suffer through a loveless marriage just so we could be rich and socially popular?" I gave her a bewildered look.

"Stop it, you're being so selfish."

"You're the one being selfish!" I snapped.

"This is because of that third-class boy, isn't it? What's his name, Jeff? Jake?"

"Jack," I growled through closed teeth.

"Fine, Jack. Look, Rose, he means nothing to you. This is just some little crush. The sea air is probably messing with your head,"

"It's more than just a little crush, mother,"

"Whatever you say, but there isn't anything you can do. We're going to get to New York and you'll marry Cal, as planned. And then you'll provide me with many grandchildren. Life will be good."

"Good for you perhaps," I said icily, "I can't believe you're arguing with me about this when this is going on."

"Are you being serious about all of this?"

Glaring, I took her by the arm, leading her outside. Cal followed.

"Just get on a damn lifeboat, mother."

**Don't forget to hit that blue button and review! :D**


	12. Determination

**Once again, thank you all for your feedback! It really makes me feel so great, writing this for the past four years have really payed off! Thank you so much, everyone. I'm glad everyone is enjoying. **_  
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**I hope I am updating quick enough. With graduation coming up, my mind has been all over the place. But no worries about writers block! All of this is already written! And there's a lot more to come, so don't stop. (;  
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**Thank you for making this writing experience a great one. Message me if you would like!  
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**-Christine  
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_Chapter 12: Ellie_

"Put your lifebelts on!" a steward yelled, holding one up in the air. Tommy reached over and grabbed it, handing it to me, and then grabbed another for himself.

The halls seemed to be filled with more and more people. They were trying to stay calm, or they were trying to comfort others. Mothers held their children, trying to get ease their feelings and husbands never left their wife's side.

The three of us went around a corner, which led us to another locked staircase. There was a huge crowd of passengers, bigger than the others we ran into previously, yelling and screaming. Standing on my toes, I realized what the commotion was all about. There was a steward on the on the other side of the gate, refusing to unlock it. He was just standing there, arguing with all of these people.

"This is ridiculous," Tommy muttered.

"I know," I shook my head. "But there isn't anything we can do about it."

"I can't take this shit anymore," he said, anger in his eyes again. "They're keeping us locked down here like bloody animals."

"I know."

"I swear I'm going to kill those stewards. They're all bastards, every single one of them."

I sighed deeply.

"Tommy, there's no use getting angry over this."

"What do you mean?"

"There's nothing we can do. Yelling and screaming has been doing absolutely nothing. Pleading and begging for them to let us up has done nothing. We can't do anything about any of this!"

"Oh really?" his eyebrows raised, "Just watch."

With a look of determination, he let go of my hand and began to head towards the top of the stairs, leaving me and Fabrizio.

"Tommy, no..." my voice trailed off. I grabbed his arm, attempting to pull him back, but he pulled away and forced his way through the crowd. At that moment I had an even worse feeling in the pit of my stomach.

_Rose _

"Will the lifeboats be seated according to class?" mom asked as she smiled at me, "I hope they're not too crowded."

Rage burned inside me.  
"Oh mother, shut up!" mother froze, her jaw dropped, "Don't you understand? Half the people on the ship are going to die."  
"Not the better half," Cal scoffed. I looked up at him, glaring. "You know, it's a shame I didn't keep that drawing. It'll be worth a lot more by morning."  
"You unimaginable bastard."

"C'mon Ruth, get into the boat, there's plenty of first class seats up there," Molly Brown practically handed my mother over to Officer Lightoller. He helped Molly in next. She looked over at me then. "C'mon Rose, you're next darling," she waved.

I stepped back, shaking my head.

"Get into the boat, Rose," Mother ordered. I didn't move a muscle. "Rose, get into the boat!"

"Good bye mother."

Without saying another word, I darted into the crowd. Cal grabbed me, but I pushed him away. It didn't take long for him to catch up. He grabbed my wrist roughly, pulling me over towards him.

"Where are you going?" Cal snapped, "To him? What, to be a whore to a gutter rat?"

"I'd rather be his whore than your wife," I said coldly. I tried to escape, but Cal tightened his grip on me.

"No! I said no!"

I struggled, but Cal's grip was too strong. Using my prior knowledge, I spat right in his face. I turned and ran as quickly as possible, running away from him.

Free. Finally free.

I prayed I would never see his face again.

_Tommy_

"Look, it isn't time to go up to the boats yet, please stay calm," the steward repeated for about the 100th time.

"Unlock the damn gate!" I shouted.

I couldn't take this anymore. This wasn't fair, this wasn't right. They couldn't keep us locked down here like this, we were all human.

I was going to do everything in my power to make sure Ellie and I were safe. Well, Ellie at least. I just needed her to be safe.

There was no way in hell I was going to let her die tonight.

"Not now, it isn't time. Just stay calm and make sure everybody has their lifebelts on." The steward repeated.

"Don't you understand? The ship is sinking!" shouted an older man next to me.

"Tommy!" I turned around to see Ellie making her way through the heard of people.

"El! What are you doing?"

"What am _I_ doing? What are _you_ doing?"

"What do you think I'm trying to do? I'm trying to get this bastard to unlock the gate," I said loud enough for the steward to hear. He shook his head.

"We don't have time for this, Tommy! We just have to go somewhere else. This is completely useless," she sighed.

I looked down at her. Her hazel eyes looked a dull gray. She looked hopeless and exhausted.

I couldn't let her be like this.

I held her as I glared at the steward. I saw her look at him with pleading eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked him quietly. He looked away.

"You can't just keep us locked down here like animals, the ship's bloody sinking!" I stepped in. The man sighed.

"Alright, bring forward the women!"

With some hesitation, the gate was unlocked. Some women were able to get through but a handful of men began pushing their way through. Other stewards pushed the men away violently.

"Women only!" they snapped.

Trying to block out the commotion, I turned to Ellie. She was standing off to the side.

"Aren't you going to try to make a run for it?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head.

"Ellie, please, go! This could be your only chance."

"No! Not without you!"

I was about to say something but the gate was then shut. The steward who I had been screaming out pulled out a small handgun. I felt my temper flaring. I glared at him again and placed my hands on the cold iron bars.

"For God's sake man, there are women and children down here! Let us up so we could have a chance!" I shouted.

The man had a look of mixed emotions on his face. I glared at him again and grabbed Ellie's hand. We began heading back down the stairs. I was relieved as I saw Jack, making his way through the crowd.

"Jack!" I shouted as I pushed my way through.

"Tommy!"

**As I always say at the end of a chapter...Review!**


	13. Reunion

**Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Now, I do not know when I will be able to update this again. I work tomorrow, it's my boyfriend's birthday on Friday, graduation rehearsals start Monday, yada, yada, yada. So, for your convenience (and because I really want to) I will be posting TWO chapters up today! So yay! (: **

**This one is a REALLY short one, so it's the least I can do. Thanks again for all of your feedback. Don't stop reading, and don't stop writing.**

_**-Christine**_

_Chapter 13: Ellie_

Once I saw Jack, I knew one thing was certain. Rose was with him. Relief swept over me when I saw her face appear behind him.

"Rose!"

Letting go of Tommy's hand, I ran over to hug her.

"Ellie, thank God you're alright! I was so worried!" she seemed just as relieved as I was.

"Where've you been?"

"I was with mother and Cal but then I left them and saved Jack."

"Saved?"

"I'll explain later."

"Can we get out?" Jack asked Tommy.

"It's hopeless that way!"

"Alright, well whatever we do we got to do it fast."

"Jack!" We all turned around to see Fabrizio, who had been stuck in the crowd.

"Fabrizio!" Jack gave his friend a quick embrace.

"The boats are all gone!"

"This whole place is flooding, we have to get out."

"There's niente this way."

"All right," Jack paused for a moment and looked down each side of the hall, "Let's go this way, all right? Now come on."

He grabbed Rose's hand and started to dart down the hall. Tommy and I followed but Fabrizio stayed behind. He was talking to a blonde Norwegian woman. I recognized her as someone he was dancing with the other night.

"Come on Helga, you come…to the boats," Fabrizio pleaded.

"No," an older man, who must've been Helga's father, shook his head.

Helga turned to her father and pleaded for a bit, but he refused. Fabrizio gave Helga one last pleading look. I exchanged glances with Tommy. Fabri looked heart broken.

Helga, on the verge of tears, shook her head. Fabrizio kissed her passionately and after gave her one last look.

"I'll never forget you!" he said to her, before catching up with us.

"Poor Fabrizio," I pitied.

"Yeah," Tommy sighed, "Poor guy."

I felt so thankful that Tommy and I were together through all of this. But I didn't want to end up like Fabrizio and Helga. I didn't want to be away from him. I wouldn't be able to stand it. I looked up at him, staring into those piercing dark eyes.

"Tommy…"

"Huh?"

"Remember what you asked me earlier? About what's going to happen to us after the ship docks?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"I want to stay with you, Tommy," I told him, "When the ship docks I want to get off with you. I don't want this to end. Not tonight. Not ever," I gripped onto his hand tightly. "Promise me," I began, "that we won't get separated. And we'll get on a lifeboat together."

"El, I want to be with you too. But I don't know about that one. It's going to be hard to get on a lifeboat together. They want women and children only."

"Tommy, I want to stay with you. I want to get through this with you by my side."

"Believe me, I do too. But I can't promise anything that might end up being broken."

"Then I won't go on a lifeboat."

"No! Look, if you if you have the chance to save yourself I want you take it," he looked into my eyes, "I can't go anywhere without knowing you're safe."

"But what about you?"

"Don't worry about me," he placed his hand on my cheek, which felt so warm. "Just please, promise me that you'll get on a lifeboat."

"Tommy, I can't. I need you."

"Please, El. I want you to be safe."

His eyes were filled with concern. I looked away.

"Tommy, I just don't know."

If I were safe I wanted him to be safe too. I felt the same way he did. It wouldn't be fair if he knew if I was safe and I didn't know if he was safe. He couldn't do that to me, it would kill me.

"Ellie, come on, we have to move," Rose stated.

"She's right," I looked back at Tommy, "Let's go."

We ran down a few more corridors with Jack and Rose leading, not speaking of the silent promises we made to each other.

We eventually stopped in the middle of the hallway, unsure to go left or keep going straight.

"Come on!" Tommy urged.

"No, let's go this way," Jack said, turning left.

Jack seemed to be a natural born leader.

We ran down the hall, filled with commotion. So many people were crying, clutching onto their loved ones tightly. Others were running down the hall, trying to get ahead of everyone else.

Everyone was fighting for their life.

I held onto Tommy tighter. I had to stay with him,

I felt protected with him by my side.

**Please oh please review! I would LOVE to hit fifty or even sixty of them! Please! :D**


	14. Splitting Up

**And here, everyone, is Chapter 14 (:**_  
_

_Chapter 14: Ellie_

"Just go back to the main stairwell and everything will be sorted there."

"The hell it will," a man snapped.

"Not this again," I sighed.

I followed Tommy, Rose, Jack, and Fabrizio up the stairs. We were stuck at another locked gate, blocked by a steward.

Typical. Oh, so typical.

"Open the gate," Jack ordered the steward.

"Go back down the main stairwell."

"Open the gate right now!"

"Go back down the main stairwell like I told you!"

I exchanged glances with Rose. She sighed, shaking her head. She looked just as exhausted as I did. We were all exhausted.

Something snapped in Jack then, after seeing Rose like that.

"God damnit, son of a bitch!" Jack screamed at the steward.

Rose and I jumped, startled. Jack headed towards a bench right near us bolted to the floor. Using all his strength, he attempted to pull the bench off the ground.

"Fabri, Tommy, give me a hand!" he grunted.

Without any hesitation, they headed toward the bench and forced it out of it's place.

"Everybody, move aside!" Rose and I shouted to everyone nearby. This gate was going down and anyone in the way would be going down with it.

The three had the bench in their hands now, lifted over their heads.

"Put that down!" the steward yelled at Jack. He didn't listen.

Rose and I ran to the sides of the narrow hall as they ran towards the gate, slamming the bench right into it.

It didn't go down.

"Again!" Jack cried.

With a burst one last burst of strength, the bench was slammed into the gate even harder, finally bringing it down completely.

Now we had a chance, there was some hope.

"Come on, Rose," Jack took Rose's hand, helping her over the bench lying in the open pathway.

Tommy also took my hand and helped me over. The steward was snapping as we began our way down the corridor.

"You can't go there! You can't do-"

_Bam!_ Tommy punched the man right in the face in one shot, forcing him to shut up. He fell right to the ground, nose bloody. I couldn't help but start laughing. Tommy smiled at me when he saw this.

"Finally, there's a smile," he tilted my head so I could be looking at him, "Now that's what I've been wantin' to see."

Still following Rose and Jack, we ran down the corridor and went up a narrow flight of metal stairs, leading us to a second class dining area. We stood in the middle of the room, a bit lost. There were so many exits and we didn't know which one to take.

"Which way? Fabrizio asked.

"Um...let's go through here," Jack and Rose darted to an exit on the left, leading us to a second class hallway. Sprinting, we passed by other passengers. Compared to E and D deck, this hall was completely empty.

Everyone in second and first class actually had a chance to get to a lifeboat.

That's when I remembered the question I asked Mr. Andrews. There was only enough lifeboats for half the people on the ship.

Half the people on the ship were going to die.

I suddenly felt sick. This was a lot worse than I thought. I gripped onto Tommy's hand tighter. There was no time to lose

There were rumors going around that Bruce Ismay, the White Star Line Manager, ordered Captain Smith to light the last boiler so the ship could move faster.. He wanted to get to New York on Tuesday so they could make the morning headlines.

_Well_, I thought to myself, _Ismay's definitely going to be making headlines_.

* * *

After moments of running around the second and first class areas looking for somewhere that would lead us to lead us to deck, we finally found one. We went out, the cool night air surrounding us. I shivered as we looked down each side of the deck. I didn't see any open boats. I took a look at the people around me. I thought it was amazing to see some first class women dressed in elegant satin nightgowns and robes. There was even a woman with open-toed slippers!

"The boats are gone!" Rose cried in dismay.

I turned my attention back to the reason why we were out on deck in the first place. We needed to get on a lifeboat right away and get the hell off of here. Rose suddenly darted to Colonel Gracie who was walking by.

"Colonel, are there any boats on that side?"

"No miss, but there are a couple all the way forward. This way I'll lead you."

We didn't wait for him. We ran to the far side of the deck. I heard the orchestra playing cheerful songs, attempting to get our mind off of the blinding truth, trying to keep everyone cheery.

"Music to drown by," Tommy began, "Now I know I'm in first class."

I looked at Tommy then.

"Half the people on the ship are going to die, Tommy.

Tommy looked shocked.

"What?"

"There aren't enough lifeboats. Don't you remember when I asked Mr. Andrews about it?" I questioned. Reality struck Tommy at that moment like it struck me moments before.

"Oh my God. I didn't even think of that..." his voice trailed off. "This is despicable. You would think the grandest ship in the world would have enough lifeboats for passengers."

"They also said that the grandest ship in the world is unsinkable," I said. Tommy slipped his arm around me, holding onto me.

"El, you're going to be fine."

"I'm a woman in first class, I have a chance. I don't care about me, I care more about you making it."

"Look, I already told you, don't worry about me."

"I can't do that," I finally felt a tear roll down my cheek as I looked into his eyes, "I'm not going to get on a lifeboat unless you're with me."

"El, " he held me in a tight embrace, "I'll be alright. I promise."

"How do you know that?"

"Thinking of you will keep me alive," he replied looking into my eyes. I felt them well up with more tears.

"Oh Tommy," I buried my face into his shoulder as I started sobbing. He held me, running his hands through my hair and trying to comfort me. Jack turned to him.

"You should go check the other side to see if there are any boats."

Tommy nodded.

"Good luck to you, Jack."

"And to you too, Tommy. You too, El."

"Thanks," I sniffed. Tommy took my hand.

"Come on El, let's go," he said. I nodded

With Fabrizio behind us, we began our way to the other side.

"Wait!" I stopped to turn to Rose. She walked over, giving my hand a squeeze.

"Good luck to you."

"Good luck to you too."

She tried to smile but she ended up bursting into tears. I bit my bottom lip, trying to fight off more tears that were coming and gave her a hug.

"Ellie, you have been the best sister anyone could have. Please stay safe."

"Don't say goodbyes, Rose. We're going to be fine," I hugged her tightly, "Get on a lifeboat with Jack. I'll see you soon...on the other ship that's coming to get us."

"Ok," she nodded, "I love you, Ellie."

"I love you too, Rose."

Without another word I turned around and followed Tommy and Fabrizio.

**Please review guys! It means the world to me! I love you all!**


	15. A Seperation

**Thanks to those who read and reviewed!_ I hope you all enjoyed! _This chapter was kinda challenging to write...So I want to know what all of you think. Let me know!**_  
_

**Also. These next few days are going to be busy. I'm graduating high school Wednesday. Holy crap. Holy crap indeed.  
**

**But, because I love you all, I shall be updating in the afternoons, most likely. I will try my hardest to make them quick, hopefully an update every day.  
**

**Once again, I love you guys. Thank you for making my hobby worthwhile.  
**

**_-Christine_  
**

_Chapter 15_: _Tommy _

"I need more women and children!" an officer beside me yelled.

Relief swept over me when we approached a boat. Now Ellie could get off of here, she was going to be safe. I didn't care what happened to me just as long as she was safe. I needed her to be safe. There was no way I could go on without knowing she was ok.

I finally knew what it was like to love someone. Everything was clear to me now. I loved Ellie.

I looked down at her. She didn't move towards the boat, she stood there, not moving a muscle.

"El, get on the boat."

"No," she shook her head, "I'm not going on without you."

Her eyes were filled with despair. It killed me inside, but there was no way I was going to let her stay on here with me. She needed to get on that boat, she needed to be safe. I knew she felt the same way I did, but her safety was everything to me.

"Please El, get on the boat."

"No!" she said stubbornly, "I can't...I-I just can't."

"Come on Ellie, save yourself and get on a boat," Fabrizio pleaded.

_Ellie_

I couldn't get on a boat. I just couldn't. I didn't want to leave Tommy, I wanted to be with him. There was no way I could be separated from him. I needed to know he was safe. If I was getting on a lifeboat, he was coming on with me. I couldn't do it, not without him. I was not leaving him alone.

"I'm not going on without you!" I said, looking into his eyes.

"Ellie, get into the boat, seriously!" Tommy said sternly.

"I already told you, I can't!" I sighed, biting my bottom lip.

Tommy sighed as well, and placed his hands on my shoulders. His eyes were dark, filled with so much seriousness.

"I swear Ellie, if you don't get into that boat, I will throw you in there. You need to be safe and this is your only way out. I'm not letting you stay here. I want you to be safe and there is no way you can let this go."

"But what about you?"

"I already told you, don't worry about me, " he placed his hand on my check, "Please, El. Please do this for me."

I looked away from him. I didn't want to do this without him. I needed him. I didn't want to get into that lifeboat, in the middle of the deep, dark ocean, without him by my side.

But I had to do it. If I didn't get on that lifeboat Tommy would never forgive me. I knew exactly how he felt, but he didn't exactly have a choice about getting on a lifeboat.

I needed to do this for him. He wanted me to be safe and if I didn't take the opportunity to save myself, it would break him.

He loved me. And I loved him too.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his shoulder.

"You get on a lifeboat as soon as you can, all right"

"I'll do what I can. I'll see you soon."

"Promise?"

"I promise," he smiled and kissed me. It was short, but it was one of the most intense moments we had shared, It held all the emotions we were feeling at once. He didn't let me go once we separated and he held me tightly. "Thank you for doing this for me, Ellie," he said quietly.

"There's no need to thank me, Tommy. I would do anything for you," I looked up at him. "I love you."

He smiled and held me even tighter.

"I love you too, El."

We shared one last kiss, long and passionate. I didn't want to let him go, but I knew I had to.

Things would work out. I knew they would. If we were meant to be together we would end up together. There was no doubt about it.

"Any more women and children?" the officer asked.

Tommy and I looked at each other again, and held each other for one last moment. He gave me a little push then, and the officer took my hand and helped me in.

"Watch your step miss," he advised.

I sat down once I was in the boat completely. With a sudden jerk, it began to lower. I looked up at the once grand ship, slowly growing distance. I couldn't believe it was tipping now. I noticed Tommy and Fabrizio looking down at me.

"Good luck Ellie," Fabrizio waved.

"Stay safe," I said, attempting to smile. Then I looked at Tommy, standing next to him.

"Be careful Tommy. I'll be seeing you."

"You will, my love. I promise."

Even though he was smiling a little, there was pain and sadness in his eyes when the lifeboat entered the deep, dark abyss.

**Please review for me! :D**


	16. Falling

**Thanks for the feedback peeps! It made me smile, as always! :D**

**This chapter was a toughie. It was difficult to write and describing everything. It's quite emotional. You'll see what I mean eventually.** **I'm hoping to get a lot of feedback on this so please, don't be shy!**

**I hope you all enjoy and I hope you are surprised! As you will see, I changed an obvious part in the film, but it was obviously important to my story. I would like to know your opinions and hear your voice!**

**I'll try to update soon, but I have graduation tomorrow! It's so strange. In a little over two months I'll be moving into my college dorm room, an hour and a half away from home, away from my family who I am so very close to, and my boyfriend, the love of my life. I feel like I'm growing up and I just...I dunno...It's so weird...Even this story makes me think of past memories since I've been writing it for four years. **

**And counting. There will be a Part II I would love to post this summer. (; Spoiler.**

**I gave my creative writing teacher this whole story, around 70 printed pages. She actually read it and left a comment on EVERY PAGE. CRAZY. Love her!**

**ANYWAYS. Sorry for venting there! I can't shut up and I apologize. Here's the chapter 16!**

**-Christine  
**

_Chapter 16:_ _Ellie _

I shivered as I looked around my surroundings. I had left the warmth of the _Titanic_ only to be in a small, cramped, lifeboat. Even right now, the _Titanic_ seemed to be safer than this...for now anyway. There was no where to go. We were only surrounded by the black, never-ending ocean. I looked at the people sitting around me. An officer that looked about my age began to speak up.

"Everyone, I'm Officer Lowe. I just want to let all of you know that I am in charge of this boat. Everybody just needs to stay calm while I give orders."

"When will another ship get here?" a woman sitting by me asked.

"We're not too sure yet. But the closest one is probably about three hours away."

"Three hours? It's freezing out here!" another woman behind me snapped.

"I know it is miss, we're all feeling it. But you just have to be patient. There's nothing we can do," Officer Lowe explained. The woman grunted.

"I'm going to write to the White Star Line about all this."

I noticed she was wearing a fur coat with a pair of diamond earrings and a matching necklace. How did she have time to get herself all dolled up before she came out on deck? I shivered again as I felt a cool breeze pass by and pulled up the sweater Tommy let me borrow up to my chin.

"We're going back to get...survivors...right?"

I turned around to see Madeline Astor, another first-class passenger, ask this question in a dry voice.

Madeline Astor was married to John Jacob Astor, the richest man on _Titanic_, even in America. She was nineteen and pregnant with John's child. It was quite scandalous, since John was much, much older than her.

"Well Mrs. Astor, it's doubtful we'll go back. They'll end up swamping the boat."

"But there are so many others out there!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't think we can."

Madeline grew pale as a tear rolled down her cheek. Then she turned to me.

"John's still on there, you know. They wouldn't let him get on here with me," she explained quietly, "I just hope that our baby gets to know how wonderful its father is."

"Oh Madeline, John will be fine," I attempted to give her a smile, "He's a strong man. I'm sure he'll make it."

"Yes well," she sniffed. "I don't want to talk about it. Stress isn't good for the baby," she looked at me thoroughly, "Hey, aren't you one of the Dewitt-Bukater girls? Eleanor, right?"

"Yes, but please, call me Ellie."

"Alright, in that case call me Maddie," she smiled warmly, "How have you been? I didn't really have the chance to talk to you at dinner the other night."

"Fine basically, how about you?"

"Quite well...before all this happened anyway. I hear that your sister is to be married off to that Caledon Hockley. How about you? Are you planning to be engaged?"

"Well, I am in love with someone."

"And who would that be?"

"Um..." I hesitated and prayed she wouldn't judge, "His name's Tommy Ryan."

"Oh really? Why wasn't I introduced?"

"I just met him...a few nights ago and we became close right away. He's a third-class passenger," I explained. Maddie's eyebrows raised.

"I bet your mother isn't happy about that."

"Not at all."

"You know Ellie," she began, "I consider you really brave. I have been criticized for marrying John. Many people think I married him for money, but that's not true! I love John so very much. Now in your case, your mother isn't happy about this. But you still stand by him, right?"

"Right, definitely."

"That is amazing Ellie. All that trouble from your mother and you still stay with him. I admire you for that. A mother's criticism to a daughter is far worse than any criticism I had to take. Are you two planning to live together when we finally get to New York?"

"Maybe," I replied. Maddie smiled.

"Well, I hope things work out."

"I hope so too."

_Tommy_

"Women and children only!" Officer Lightoller shouted, "Get back, damn you!"

"This looks bad," I said, turning to Fabrizio.

"Well, there has to be some way."

"Then this obviously isn't the right way," I looked down each side of the deck, filled with scattering people. "Um...come on, let's go this way," I suggested, turning left.

We attempted to push our way through a crowd of panicking people, but it was hard to actually get anywhere. Fabrizio's face suddenly lit up.

"Hey, look there," the Italian pointed, "That lifeboat isn't filled."

"Maybe we actually have a chance," I mumbled to myself.

Following him, I headed to the lifeboat, hoping to get inside before it was lowered. But there was no such luck.

"Women and children only!" an officer suddenly snapped, "Step back!"

"This lifeboat isn't completely filled though," I argued, "There's so much room, you can let so many others on!"

"Look, I am not certified to do that sir, now please, _get back_!"

I stepped back but I didn't stop arguing.

"You can't just let lifeboats go out half-full like that! Now more people won't have a chance!"

The officer paused for a moment before saying something.

"Just stay back!" he ordered.

I felt my temper rising. I hated taking orders from some stranger. His way of thinking didn't make any sense. Why would you let so many people die even though they could be saved easily?

"Will you give us a chance to live, you limey bastard?"

"Anyone who tries to get past me get back!" he screamed.

"Bastard!" I shouted again.

People beside me were also protesting. Utter chaos was all around me. The officer pulled a gun out of his pocket pointing it and using it as a threat. One man started climbing on the ropes and was shot automatically.

"Come on Tommy, let's go another way," Fabrizio said nervously.

"Yeah, let's go," I agreed.

We turned, trying to push our way through the herd of people but it was useless. No one budged, everyone just stood there screaming and yelling.

"Come on, move it," Fabrizio barked, just as aggravated as me.

That's when I was shoved by a very large men, I lost my balance and was standing right in front of the officer.

"Hey! Get back!" He yelled pointing his pistol at me.

Preparing for the worst, I backed away from him, my heart pounding.

_Please God, not now,_ I prayed, _not now_. I shut my eyes tightly.

Only a few moments later, I felt myself fall backward. There was no sharp pain in my chest. No bullet had me.

_I must've fallen over the edge_, I realized.

But instead of feeling shock from cold water, I landed flat on my back on something really hard. I opened my eyes. I was in a lifeboat being lowered.

"The man fell over the edge," the officer with the gun said to another, running beside him. They were looking down at me.

"Well, he's already in there, so there's no use of getting him out," the other stated.

I sat up and looked around. There was around twenty women and children in the boat, staring at me in utter disbelief. I grinned sheepishly, trying to ignore the horrible pain in my back.

"Well," I began, "I guess I'm just a lucky guy."

**There was no way I could kill off Mr. Ryan. *Insert hearts here* I love him way too much! You all see how this story ended up into two parts. XD But anyways. I hope you enjoyed and I hope you're all happy I didn't kill off Tommy like in the film. Reviews are ALWAYS appreciated and I will reply to them!**


	17. Darkness

**Thanks all for the reviews!I'm at 48 now, getting so close to 50! Can't wait to hit that! :D  
**

**I am offically graduated now! Yay! So expect updates on a regular basis. This story should be continuing all summer. I can't wait to share everything with all of you, I'm so excited! I love all of you!  
**

**_-Christine_  
**

_Chapter 17_: _Ellie_

We were pretty far out into the water now, the night air around us was chilling. Shivering, I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to keep warm. My breath was in plain view. It even felt like ice was hanging from the ends of my curls. I picked up my head and looked in horror at the once grand _Titanic_. Surprisingly, the lights were still on. But the one image that chilled me to the bone was the rear, high up in the air, on one huge slant.

"Oh Lord," I said breathlessly.

Everyone around me was silent. Madeleine was crying. I felt complete despair as I thought about Tommy, still being on that ship. I shook my head.

"No," I whispered to myself, "He's on a lifeboat...he's safe."

I couldn't be thinking negative. Tommy wouldn't want that. I shivered again, looking forward to another ship getting us. I began to wonder, what if a ship never came? Then what would happen? We would just have to wait for a miracle, which everyone at this point of time needed. I looked behind me to see a little girl with her mother.

"Mommy, is daddy still on the big ship?"

"No sweetie, daddy's safe on a lifeboat," the woman bit her bottom lip.

"But they didn't let him get on our lifeboat."

"It wasn't time for the dads to get on a lifeboat."

"I'm cold," the girl shivered. Her mother hugged her and wrapped another blanket around her.

"We're all cold honey."

"When's another ship coming to get us?"

"I-I don't know," the mother kissed the top of her daughters head.

I looked away from the small family. I realized that others were suffering far worse than me. I began to wonder where Rose was right about now. I was pretty sure she was safe and sound on a lifeboat. After all, that's what she was doing when I saw her last. Jack would make her get on. I also began to think about mother as well. I knew she absurd and all, but she was my mother. I still cared for her and I hoped she was ok and not saying anything stupid. I also began to wonder about Jack. I barley knew the man, but one thing was for certain- my sister loved him and he made her happy. And that made me happy. Him, Tommy and Fabrizio could get on a lifeboat together.

Everything was going to be fine. Mother was going to make it. Rose was going to make it. Jack and Fabrizio were going to make it. Tommy was going to make it.

I shivered again, and held myself tightly. I couldn't believe any of this was happening. It seemed unreal, impossible. Yet, I was glad it was happening.

If it wasn't for this disaster I would have never met Tommy. He had given me the best love I could have ever had. Even if we never saw each other again, I would cherish what we had these past few days. I knew what love was now. I had found love in Tommy and now, I didn't want to let him go.

Love is such a strange thing. It comes when it wants to, piercing you. It doesn't matter when. It doesn't matter where. Everything else is a blur whenever you are with the person you love. It's something indescribable, unusual, untamable. But when love hits your heart, it never intends on leaving.

It stays.

_Tommy _

We were probably about 200 feet away from the ship about now. I looked up at it, it's once majestic beauty sinking slowly to the deep. It was a good thing Ellie wasn't on there. I knew she was safe in another lifeboat and I knew God was watching over her. My mind wandered off to thinking about Fabrizio and Jack. The three of us became very close during this voyage and I hoped they were as lucky as I was.

"Officer, we're going to go back...right?" a young woman beside me asked.

"We can't go back m'am they would swamp the boat."

"But they'll freeze to death!"

"Would you rather have them freeze than you?" he asked sharply. The woman didn't reply.

"I think we should go back, it would be the right thing to do," an elderly man stated.

"I'm sorry sir, but they'll swamp us. This is a life or death situation here. So just stay calm, and don't ask any questions. Alright?"

I looked up at the _Titanic_ again for the second time. It used to be known as the ship of dreams. I witnessed one of it's funnel's fall towards the bow, making a horrible noise of ripped metal. Many people in the boat gasped. Then unexpectedly, the lights of the ship went out. Passengers in the lifeboats cried out in shock. I wondered how Ellie was, wishing I could just hold her at this very moment. I was worried about her and I couldn't wait to see her again.

_Ellie_

The world to us now was plunged into darkness. Terrifying screams out in the distance shot right through me. It seemed as if every ounce of hope we had left was gone.

"It's over now, isn't it?" a woman whispered quietly. No one answered.

I glanced up at the sky, which seemed to be my only comfort at this time. I felt an ounce of happiness when I found Orion's Belt.

Suddenly, there was a horrible cracking noise no one was prepared to hear. The _Titanic_ now split into two. More screaming was heard. People beside me gasped again, many sobbing.

"God have mercy," Madeleine said breathlessly.

Negative thoughts began running through my head. What if Tommy was still on there? I began feeling sick to my stomach.

"Be optimistic!" I whispered harshly to myself.

I tried to think of uplifting thoughts but it was impossible now. This was it. Tears streamed down my face as I watched _Titanic_, the greatest ship in the world, slowly sink into the dark abyss. She was gone now. So much time, effort and money, just thrown away.

Almost everyone near me was sobbing. Women who would usually never dare to show ay emotion in public were breaking down, clutching onto handkerchiefs.

"That's it," a woman sniffed, "It's the end for us."

"No," another woman shook her head, "It's the end of the _Titanic_. For _Titanic_ is no more."

**I felt sad writing this chapter. I felt depressed and I just thought wow, this isn't just a story. This is history. 1500 people really did lose their lives in this tragedy which could have been prevented so easily.**

**I hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave me some feedback. (:**


	18. The End

**As I always say, thank you all again for your feedback! I just love it. I really cannot thank you all enough. Honestly, I did not think I would have too many readers because, well, "Jack lives" fanfics seem to be the most popular here. But I feel accomplished. Very accomplished. I remember when I first started writing this back in eighth grade...I still have my binder with all of this written (and a lot more)...Boy, has my writing style changed.**

**Now, this chapter is REALLY short. I'm also heading to the Jersey shore with my boyfriend tomorrow and we're staying at a bed and breakfast for the first half of the week and my graduation party is this weekend. So yeah, very busy.**

**That's why you're all getting two updates this evening. :D**

_**Enjoy!**_

_**-Christine**_

_Chapter 18: Ellie_

Minutes which seemed like hours dragged on slowly. All we heard now was horrifying, chilling screams out in the distance. Fear and dread was so thick in the air, you could taste it on the tip of your tongue. I felt anger rising in me. How could we let all those people freeze to death? It wasn't fair, it was downright cruel! You might as well consider it murder.

"Mr. Lowe, we have to go back," I said quietly.

"M'am, they'll swamp us. It's their lives or yours."

"They're freezing to death! There is no way we're experiencing the pain they're going through right now!

That's right," an elderly woman chimed in.

"It's not a good idea," Officer Lowe said sternly. I bit my bottom lip.

"Sir, the love of my life could be out there. And I know for a fact everyone on this boat are as worried sick about their loved ones as I am. Think if one of your loved ones were out there. Think how you would feel if your wife, child, mother, father, brother, or sister were out there in that dark, cold water. One of your crewmembers could be out there, Mr. Lowe. And there are hundreds of parents and children out there," everyone was silent. Officer Lowe had no reply. I sighed. "You have the chance to put their lives in your hands. You could save them, Mr. Lowe. Right now is your chance. All you have to do is turn this boat around."

Mr. Lowe had a grim look on his face as a few more moments passed. Biting his bottom lip, he looked out in the distance towards the screams. He took a deep breath.

"Right," he sat up straight, facing every one of us, "Listen to me now, we have to go back!" he looked at a nearby lifeboat, very close to us. "Now I would like to transfer all the women from this boat into that boat please."

A sigh of relief overcame me as we briskly moved.

If Tommy was out there, he had a chance now.

_Tommy_

I noticed how a lifeboat far ahead was transferring people into another one. They were probably going back to rescue others.

"We should go back," I stated, "That lifeboat up there is."

"That's their decision. It's a waste of time, really. The boat's going to be swamped and by the time they actually get to everyone, they'll be dead."

"We can't just let those people out there freeze to death!" a young woman snapped behind me.

"My husband is out there!" another cried, "Are we going to let him slowly freeze to death even though there's time to save him, which we're wasting right now?"

Another woman agreed. Conversation of protest arose and it soon erupted. Everyone was angry and flustered.

"Shut up all of you!" the officer suddenly yelled. "If we go back we will all freeze to death! Does anyone of you want that?" Silence. "That's what I thought," he then paused, looking out into the ocean. "It's our lives now. Not theirs."

No one said a word. The world was completely silent except for the faint screaming out in the distance.

_Ellie_

It seemed like forever to get the lifeboat set up to rescue the unfortunate souls out in the water. By the time it went on it's way, I heard no more screams. It was quiet now, all too quiet. It was an eerie feeling, chills going up my spine. Those screams let all of us know there was life out there. Now, they were gone, taking lives with them.

I shuddered thinking of this and curled up into a ball. I was scared, worried, and exhausted. Those feelings made me forget how cold I was. Dread and hopelessness surrounded me and everyone else. I heard people around me sobbing quietly. Madeline was holding herself tightly as a tear rolled down her cheek.

I started sobbing along with them as I worried about Tommy. I did not know where Tommy was, if he was safe. It was unfair for him to do this to me, forcing me to get on this lifeboat without him. At least he had closure. He knew I was on a boat and that I was safe. I had no closure. No closure, whatsoever. I was worried sick. This wasn't fair. I had to rely on blind faith while Tommy had closure.

If he knew everything I was thinking right now he would probably scold me and say "Oh stop it, El. Think optimistically and have some faith for once in ya life." It was impossible to think the way he would want me to, considering we were stranded in the middle of a dark abyss.

I forced myself to close my eyes and push the painful thoughts out of my head. It took awhile, but I eventually drifted off to sleep._  
_


	19. Carpathia

**And here is Chapter 19.** **:)**

_**-Christine**_

_Chapter 19: Ellie_

I woke up a few hours later. The sun was just rising over the horizon. As I sat up, I felt the cold air hit me once again. My whole body felt so numb and achy, my throat was sore as well. I groaned as I stretched a little, attempting to wake up. To my amazement, there was a ship right in front of us. _Carpathia_. My hopes were suddenly lifted.

We were finally saved.

"Come here miss, I'll help you up," I blinked to see Officer Lowe. He held out his hand and I took it as he helped me onboard. Almost automatically, a stewardess came to my side.

"You must be traumatized, dear," she took my hand, "Oh my, you're freezing! Take this!" she handed me a cup of tea. I gave her a small smile and thanked her. "We have many cabins open, a lot of our first class passengers gave their cabins up for survivors in need. I will escort you one, you just need to give your name to that man right over there," she pointed, "He'll assign you to one and I'll be happy to escort you to one. There's also a line for a hot breakfast and for brandy as well. You just go and help yourself whenever you want."

"Thank you," I gave a small smile.

"Take care, miss. I'll take you to your room as soon as you're assigned to one."

I nodded and she walked away to tend to the others. I looked around, trying to spot Tommy, Rose, or Jack. There was not one face I recognized as I walked in a daze through everyone.

"What do you mean he's not on here?" an older woman cried, tears in her eyes, "He has to be! He's such a strong swimmer!" she burst into tears then.

Biting my bottom lip, I sat on a bench and took a sip of my tea. I hated seeing everyone around me in such a miserable state. All of this just seemed like a horrible nightmare. Why in the hell did this happen to us?

"Excuse me, miss?" I turned around. It was the steward who was taking names.

"Yes?"

"May I have your name?"

"Ellie. Ellie DeWitt Bukater,"

"Thank you," he replied as he copied it down, "I assigned you to cabin B32. I can have you escorted in a matter of seconds."

"Is there a Tommy Ryan on that list by any chance?" I interrupted. He glanced through the names briskly, eyes scanning.

"Not that I see, madam. But keep in mind, people are still being let on. No need to worry yet," he smiled a little.

"What time is it?"

"Around seven, I believe."

"Thank you."

"Not a problem." He gave another small smile and he was on his way.

I had to fight tears that were coming. Tommy was not on that list…I really thought he would be. I had that miserable, hopeless feeling come over me again. I was considering getting breakfast, but I suddenly lost my appetite. I shivered and took another sip of my tea.

Tommy wasn't dead. He couldn't be. He was a strong man. He could get through anything.

"Eleanor!" I picked my head up. Mother was approaching me.

"Mother!" I stood up as she came over to give me a hug.

"Oh darling, I was so worried about you."

"I was too. We're safe now, though. It shouldn't be long until we get to New York."

"I know, thank God," she paused for a moment, "I haven't seen your sister. Cal hasn't either. We're thinking the worst."

"Oh mother, don't be ridiculous. She should be fine, she got on a lifeboat!" I smiled. It went away quickly as my mother looked at me gravely.

"She jumped off that boat, Eleanor. She jumped so she could stay with Jack. We don't know what happened. Cal saw her do it."

I gasped as I brought my hand up to my face.

Oh God, my sister…My darling little sister. I had the worst feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"You're lying," I said, tears beginning to stream down my face. Mother shook her head.

"Cal saw it happen. It's awful, Eleanor. We're all taking it pretty hard."

"They're still letting people on here, mother."

"I don't know, darling. It doesn't look good," mother sighed. I bit my bottom lip as she held me. "Cal is taking this pretty rough," she then said.

"Is he?"

"Oh yes. He's heartbroken."

"Well you don't know if she's dead yet," I said pulling away from her.

"Do you think you could go talk to him?" she suddenly asked. I gave her a confused look.

"For what reason?"

"You're close to his age and it may be nice for him to talk to someone, it might make him feel better."

I stepped away from her.

"No thank you, mother. I would prefer not to be a shoulder Cal can lean on."

"He really needs it darling," she said, looking a bit desperate.

"Mother, don't push me!" I said sternly, "You can try to make him feel better. I personally do not want to associate myself with him. Don't act so ridiculous," I started walking away from her again, "I'll be seeing you, mother."

"Take care darling," she said, sighing.

I rolled my eyes and turned away as I looked for the stewardess I met earlier to escort me to my room. Who the hell did my mother think she was? She was insane; there was no way I was going to talk to that bastard. I couldn't believe she was being so pushy.

Maybe she thought of using me as backup since there was the possibility that Rose was gone. Maybe that was the reason why she was being so pushy.

God, she was cold-hearted.

I looked up at the sky, gray and cloudy. A gust of wind blew right through me and I shivered. I needed to get inside. I was cold and wanted to get away from mother.

I also needed Tommy to be here.

**Of course, your feedback is appreciated as always. I hope you were all satisfied!**


	20. Together at Last

**...I felt like posting one more chapter before my trip...(:**

**This chapter is REALLY REALLY short, but it answers your questions.  
**

_**-Christine**_

_Chapter 20: Tommy_

I automatically looked for Ellie as I stepped onto the deck. Our lifeboat was the last one loaded on here, it was around 8:30 now. I walked right through the breakfast line as I searched for her.

Where the hell was she?

"Excuse me sir, may I have your name?" I turned to see a steward with a clipboard.

"Thomas Ryan," I replied. As he was wrote my name down I asked him if Ellie was on the list.

"She's in cabin B32."

"Thank you. She's my fiancée, so you can just assign me to that cabin," I knew if I told him she was my girlfriend he would be difficult.

Before he could say anything else to me, I walked away from him.

If she wasn't out here, she was in that room. I needed to see her. I wanted to hold her tightly and let her know everything was ok. I knew she must have been worried sick for the past few hours.

I needed to be there for her.

I headed inside and a stewardess directed me where to go. I thanked her and ran down the hall to find her.

_Ellie _

The stewardess who escorted me was so very kind. She provided me with a change of warm clothing. Now I was curled up in the bed, under the blankets. It felt so nice to be warm again.

As I closed my eyes, I felt cold again. Memories from hours ago invaded my mind. I heard those faint screams again, felt the cold air and water. My stomach churned as I realized that I still haven't seen Tommy and Rose.

I had that feeling again, that feeling of hopelessness and despair. The two people I was closest to…Gone. They could be gone.

They couldn't be gone. No, never. They wouldn't leave me like that. God wouldn't take them away from me.

They were fine. They had to be.

At that moment, I jumped as I heard a knock on the door.

Unsure of what to expect, I slipped on a robe draped over a chair the stewardess provided me. I walked to the door, and opened it slowly. For all I knew, it could be mother.

I smiled widely as I saw Tommy standing before me.

"Tommy!" I squealed as I jumped into his arms. I felt tears streaming down my face already as I buried my face in his shoulder. "I was so worried about you, I thought you were dead."

"I told you there was no need to worry," I could hear the smile in his voice as he held me tighter, lifting me off the ground. "I told you I would make it."

"There were so many that didn't," I said, looking into those eyes I adored, "How did you manage to get on a lifeboat? What happened?"

"I'll explain in a little," he said quietly as he held me even tighter, practically squeezing me. "I just want to hold you. God, I missed you."

"I missed you too," I whispered.

We stayed like that for moments which seemed like forever, holding each other so tightly. My fear had gone away now. All I felt was comfort and relief, so much relief.

"I love you, El," Tommy said, "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Tommy. I'm so happy you're alright and you're here. I thought about you not being in my life and I just felt so sick."

"You don't need to think about that ever again, love," Tommy said, looking into my eyes, "I'm here now. And I will always be."

We smiled at each other widely and then kissed each other passionately. I felt my stomach flutter and my knees felt weak again. Every time he kissed me it went right through me.

That was never going to get old.

**Short and sweet. Finally, one ends on a happy note. (: Reviews are appreciated!**


	21. Just the Beginning

**Thank for all of the feedback everyone! So happy I'm at 64 reviews! I know some thought that chapter twenty was the last chapter, but it is not. This is the last chapter of this fanfic and it will answer your questions about Jack and Rose. **_  
_

**I hope everyone enjoyed this, this fanfic means so much to me. I hope this last chapter is a good one.  
**

**_-Christine_  
**

_Chapter 21: Ellie _

It was April 18 when we arrived in New York_. _It was pouring rain as we passed by the Statue of Liberty. We were both soaked, but neither of us cared. We were finally in New York, excitement took over us. I looked up at Tommy, squeezing his hand.

"Darling, I wish Rose was here."

"I know," he said quietly as I rested my head on his shoulder, tearing up a little. He turned me so he could hold me in an embrace. "It'll be ok, love. I promise. She's with Jack. She's happy."

"Actually, it's the complete opposite." a voice behind us quietly said, whispering those few words. I recognized it right away.

"Rose! You're alive!" I shouted as I ran to give her a hug.

"Shush! Not so loud!" she scolded as I squeezed her.

"What happened to you? Why didn't you look for me?"

"I couldn't give myself away. I'm leaving mother and Cal. They haven't seen me, they still think I'm dead. And I would like to keep it that way, thank you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do," I nodded. "I don't think I'll be talking to mother once we get to New York, anyway. She angered me when we first got on here and I just can't stand her anymore."

"I'm glad we're on the same page," Rose smiled. I smiled back.

"Are you holding up ok?" I asked. She shrugged.

"I'm doing the best I can, I guess," she sighed. I gave her a sympathetic look, placing my hand on her shoulder.

"We're really sorry about Jack," Tommy said.

"I know, I am too," she said quietly. "But at least you two are going to make it. I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you," I said, feeling guilty deep down. She gave a small smile.

"I better go. I'll be seeing you."

"Where can I see you when we get to New York?" I asked before she walked away. She shrugged.

"I don't know where I'm going to end up, Ellie. Don't worry about me. I'll come to you."

"But Rose…" my voice trailed off. She gave me another hug.

"Don't worry! I'll be fine!" she smiled a little, hugging me tighter. "I'm a big girl now."

"I just don't want you leaving me, Rose."

"Oh, I won't. You know I like you," she teased.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck, Rose," Tommy said to her. She approached him to give him a hug.

"Thanks, Tommy."

She walked back to me then, giving me one last hug.

"Good luck to the both of you. I love you, Ellie."

"I love you too, Rose. Please be careful."

"I will. Don't worry about me," she said. I then felt her slip something in the pocket of Tommy's jacket I was wearing. I gave her a confused look and she just smiled, "Good luck," she said again.

She walked off into the distance then. I didn't take my eyes off of her. Tommy came over next to me, slipping his arm around me.

"Do you think she'll be ok?" I asked quietly. He nodded.

"Yes. I think she will be."

I leaned my head against his shoulder as we looked back at the Statue of Liberty. I smiled a little and looked up at him.

"Looks like we made it."

"Yes," he smiled, "Yes it does."

"Are you sure you want me to get off with you?" I asked, making sure. He glared at me.

"Ellie, we have been through hell and back. We've been through so much already and we haven't even known each other for a whole week. I think we're meant to be together. If we survived _Titanic_, I think we could get through anything."

I smiled widely.

"I love you, Tommy."

"I love you El," he said before kissing me.

"Do you think your aunt and uncle will be mad that I'll be living with you?" I asked when we separated.

He had told me earlier that he was planning to stay at his Uncle Patrick's and his Aunt Sarah's home for a little while until he could find a job. They offered months ago when he decided he was moving here.

"Well they'll be surprised, but I know they'll love you," he ruffled my hair. "Who couldn't?"

"You think so?"

"I know so. They like everyone."

"If you say so," I said. He kissed the top of my head.

"You have nothing to worry about."

"I trust you," I smiled.

"Good. Because I know what I'm talking about." He grinned.

I rolled my eyes as I slipped my hand into my pocket, remembering Rose put something in there.

I gasped as I pulled out the Heart of the Ocean and a roll of twenties right of it. Tommy saw too, his eyes widened.

"Holy shit, where did that come from?" he asked, completely shocked. I blinked.

"Rose…She put it in my pocket." I stood in utter disbelief. Tommy took the necklace out of my hand.

"This thing must be worth millions!"

"It is," I said, still shocked. "She was wearing Cal's jacket, he must have completely forgotten about it."

"I don't see how you could," Tommy said.

I took the necklace out of his hand, putting it back in my pocket. What the hell were we going to do with that thing? If we sold it, it would be all over the newspapers, it would be traced back to Rose. What did she expect us to do with it?"

"Tommy, I don't think we can do anything with that."

"Why not?" Tommy asked, confused. "El, if we sold that we could be rich! Think of the home we could get and everything else!"

"It would be traced back to Rose."

Tommy groaned.

"I didn't think of that."

"Look, we'll figure everything out when the ship docks." I told him. He sighed.

"At least we have the twenties."

I chuckled then, and I wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.

"You really think we're going to make it?"

"I really do," he replied, looking down at me and running his fingers through my hair. "I believe there's a reason for everything. And I think you're the reason why I survived _Titanic_ and tripped into that lifeboat."

"You think I am?"

"Yes, of course!" he laughed "You ask so many damn questions, you know that?"

"Sorry," I blushed. He pulled me closer and kissed me, pressing his lips firmly against mine. I moved my arms, wrapping them around his neck and held onto him tightly.

Eventually, we separated, looking into each other's eyes deeply. Tommy placed his hand on my cheek.

"You're my lucky charm, El. I am so glad I found you."

"I'm glad I found you, Tommy."

We stood there, right in the middle of _Carpathia's_ deck, in the pouring rain, holding each other so tightly. Even though I was soaked, I felt so warm in his arms.

This was never going to end. We had found each other and we were never letting go. Life could take us anywhere, but we would get through it. If we conquered _Titanic_, we could conquer anything else. I finally knew what it was like to be in love and to be loved. _Titanic_ brought me to the love of my life. He was the one.

New York wasn't going to be the end of us, not at all. We were about to go off into the world and experience life together, side by side. This was never going to end. Not now. Not ever.

This was just the beginning.

**END OF PART ONE**

**EVERYONE. THERE IS A PART TWO COMING YOUR WAY. IT IS EXCITING AND CRAZY AND I CANNOT WAIT TO SHARE IT.  
**

**Shall I post Part Two in this document or open a whole new one?  
**


	22. PART II IS UP

**Just letting all of you know, Part II is now posted in a separate document. Thank you all so much for reading this story and I hope all of you take a look at Part II!**

**Happy reading and happy writing. **

**-Christine**


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